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Down  the  Orinoco  in  a  Canoe 


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1  I  I  I 


L        A        N        T 


,!Ar    SlUnVINC    THIC    ORINOCO    AND    ITS    TRIBUTARIES 


Down  the  Orinoco 
in  a  Canoe 


By 

S.  Perez  Triana 


With    an    Introduction   by 
R.   B.   Cunninghame  Graham 


•  Que  ejcura  que  ejt4  la  Noche  ! 
La  Noche  !  que  ejcura  ejta  ! 
Asi  de  ejcura  ej  la  ausencia  .  .  . 
Bogi,  Negrito,  bogd, 
Bogi  f 

Candelario  Obeso 


New  York 

Thomas  Y.  Crowell  &  Co. 

Publishers 

1902 


;^>3/3 


PREFACE 

'  Climas  pasd,  mudd  constelaciones,  golfos  inavegables,  nave- 
gando.' — Ercilla  :  La  Araucana. 

To  read  a  book  to  which  a  friend  has  asked  you 
to  write  a  preface  is  an  unusual — nay,  even  a 
pedantic — thing  to  do.  It  is  customary  for  a 
preface-monger  to  look  contemptuously  at  the 
unopened  bundle  of  his  friend's  proofs,  and  then 
to  sit  down  and  overflow  you  his  opinions  upon 
things  created,  and  those  which  the  creator  has 
left  in  chaos.  I  plead  guilty  at  once  to  eccen- 
tricity, which  is  worse  than  the  sin  of  witchcraft, 
for  witchcraft  at  one  time  may  have  exposed 
one  to  the  chance  of  the  stake  ;  but  eccentricity 
at  all  times  has  placed  one  outside  the  pale  of 
all  right-thinking  men.  To  wear  a  different  hat, 
waistcoat,  or  collar,  from  those  affected  by  the 

G95935 


vi  PREFACE 

Apollos  who  perambulate  our  streets,  to  cut  your 
hair  too  short,  to  wear  it  by  the  twentieth  fraction 
of  an  inch  too  long,  is  scandalum  magnaium,  and 
not  to  be  endured.  So  in  confessing  that  I  have 
read  '  Down  the  Orinoco  in  a  Canoe,'  not  only  in 
the  original  Spanish  in  which  it  first  appeared, 
but  in  its  English  dress,  is  to  condemn  myself 
out  of  my  own  mouth,  to  be  set  down  a  pedant, 
perhaps  a  palterer  with  the  truth,  and  at  the  best 
a  man  so  wedded  to  old  customs  that  I  might 
almost  be  a  Socialist. 

It  is  undoubtedly  a  far  cry  to  Bogotd.  Per- 
sonally, more  by  good  fortune  than  by  any 
effort  of  my  own,  I  know  with  some  degree  of 
certainty  where  the  place  is,  and  that  it  is  not 
built  upon  the  sea.  My  grandfather  was  called 
upon  to  mediate  between  Bolivar  and  General 
Paez.  and  I  believe  acquitted  himself  to  the 
complete  dissatisfaction  of  them  both.  Such  is 
the  mediator's  meed. 

The  general  public,  of  whom  (or  which)  I 
wish  to  speak  with  all  respect,  is  generally, 
I    take   it,    in   the    position    of    the    American 


PREFACE  vii 

Secretary  of  State  to  whom  an  office-seeker 
came  with  a  request  to  be  appointed  the  United 
States  Vice-Consul  for  the  town  of  Bogota. 
The  request  was  duly  granted,  and  as  the 
future  Consul  left  the  room  the  Secretary 
turned  to  the  author  of  this  book,  and  said  : 
'  Triany,  where  in  thunder  is  Bogoter,  any 
way  ?'  Still,  Bogotd  to-day  is,  without  doubt, 
the  greatest  literary  centre  south  of  Panama. 
Putting  aside  the  floods  of  titubating  verse 
which,  like  a  mental  dysentery,  afflict  all  mem- 
bers of  the  Spanish-speaking  race,  in  Bogota 
more  serious  literary  work  is  done  during  a 
month  than  in  the  rest  of  the  republics  in  a 
year.  The  President  himself,  Don  Jose  Manuel 
Marroquin,  during  the  intervals  of  peace — 
which  in  the  past  have  now  and  then  prevailed 
in  the  republic  over  which  he  rules — has  found 
the  time  to  write  a  book,  '  El  Moro,'  in  which 
he  draws  the  adventures  of  a  horse.  The  book 
is  written  not  without  literary  skill,  contains 
much  lore  of  horsemanship,  and  is  a  veritable 
mine  of  local  customs ;  and  for  the  moral  of  it 


riii  PREFACE 

— and  surely  Presidents,  though  not  anointed, 
as  are  Kings,  must  have  a  moral  in  all  they 
write,  they  do  and  say — it  is  enough  to  make  a 
man  incontinently  go  out  and  pawn  his  spurs. 

Thus,  Bogota,  set  in  its  plateau  in  Columbian 
wilds,  is  in  a  way  a  kind  of  Chibcha  Athens. 
There  all  men  write,  and  poets  rave  and 
madden  through  the  land,  and  only  wholesome 
necessary  revolutions  keep  their  number  down. 
Still,  in  the  crowd  of  versifiers  one  or  two,  such 
as  Obeso,  the  negro  poet,  who,  being  denied  all 
access  to  the  lady  of  his  love — the  colour  line 
being  strictly  drawn  in  Bogota,  as  well  befits  a 
democratic  government — brought  out  a  paper 
once  a  week,  entitled  Lectu7'a  pai^a  it,  have 
written  verse  above  the  average  of  Spanish 
rhyme.  Others,  again,  as  Gregorio  Gutierrez 
Gonzalez  and  Samuel  Uribe  Velazquez  have 
written  well  on  local  matters,  and  Juan  de  Dios 
Carasquilla  has  produced  a  novel  called  'Frutos 
de  mi  Tierra,'  far  better  than  the  average 
'  epoch-making  '  work  of  circulating  library  and 
press. 


PREFACE  ix 

P6rez  Triana,  son  of  an  ex-President,  and 
speaking  English  and  Spanish  with  equal 
fluency,  is  a  true  son  of  Bogota,  and  writes 
as  easily  as  other  people  talk. 

His  book  occurred  in  this  wise.  The  usual 
biennial  revolution  having  placed  his  enemies 
in  power,  he  found  it  requisite  to  leave 
the  country  with  all  speed.  The  seaports 
being  watched,  he  then  determined,  like  Fray 
Caspar  de  Carbajal,  to  launch  his  boat  upon  the 
Orinoco,  and,  that  the  parallel  should  be  exact, 
write  an  account  of  all  he  saw  upon  the  way. 
Few  books  of  travel  which  I  have  come  across 
contain  less  details  of  the  traveller  himself. 
Strangely  enough,  he  rescued  no  one  single- 
handed  from  great  odds.  His  strength  and 
valour,  and  his  fertility  of  brain  in  times  of 
peril,  together  with  his  patience,  far  exceeding 
that  of  Indian  fakirs,  are  not  obtruded  on 
the  bewildered  reader,  as  is  usual  in  like 
cases. 

Though  armed,  and  carrying  on  one  occasion 
so  much  lethal  stuff  as  to  resemble,  as  he  says 


X  PREFACE 

himself,  a  '  wandering  arsenal,'  he  yet  slew  no 
one,  nor  did  he  have  those  love  adventures 
which  happen  readily  to  men  in  foreign  lands 
from  whom  a  kitchen  wench  would  turn  in 
scorn  in  their  own  native  town :  nothing  of 
empire  and  little  of  patriotism  is  there  in  his 
book.  In  fact,  he  says  that  those  who  are  his 
countrymen  are  those  who  have  the  same  ideals 
as  himself — a  cursed  theory  which,  if  it  once 
obtained,  would  soon  abolish  Custom-houses, 
and  render  armies  useless,  make  navies  all  to  be 
sold  for  scrap  iron,  and  would  leave  hundreds 
of  patriotic  sweaters  without  a  platitude.  What 
chiefly  seems  to  have  appealed  to  this  unusual 
traveller  was  the  strangeness  and  beauty  of  the 
long  reaches  on  the  interminable  waterways, 
the  brightness  of  the  moon,  the  thousand  noises 
of  the  desert  night,  the  brilliant  birds,  kaleido- 
scopic fish,  and  the  enchantment  of  a  world 
remote  from  all  that  to  a  really  well-constituted 
modern  mind  makes  life  endurable.  At  times, 
although  I  tremble  as  I  write,  it  seems  to  me 
he  doubts  of  things  which  we  all  take  on  trust, 


PREFACE  xi 

such  as  the  Stock  Exchange.  Even  the  army 
is  not  sacred  to  this  democrat,  sprung  from  a 
shameless  State  in  which  there  is  no  King,  and 
which,  consequently,  can  never  hope  to  con- 
template a  Coronation  show,  for  he  retails  a 
joke  current  in  Columbia,  but  which,  I  think, 
if  duly  followed  up,  might  be  encountered  in 
Menander,  or,  at  the  least,  in  Aristophanes. 
A  Columbian  Mayor  of  a  town  sent  to  the 
President  a  hundred  volunteers,  with  a  request 
that  all  the  ropes  should  be  returned.  Jokes 
such  as  these  cannot  be  helpful  to  a  State  ;  in 
fact,  a  joke  at  all  is  to  a  serious  man  a  rank 
impertinence,  and  if  an  author  wishes  to  obtain 
a  place  within  the  ranks  of  Anglo  -  Saxon 
literature,  he  should  not  joke  at  all,  or,  if  he 
does,  joke  about  fat  or  thin  men,  bald  heads  or 
sea-sickness,  or  on  some  subject  which  the 
great  public  mind  has  set  apart  for  wit.  How- 
ever, as  a  member  of  the  Latin  race,  it  cannot 
reasonably  be  expected  of  him  that  at  one 
bound  he  should  attain  unto  the  fulness  of  our 
Anglo-Saxon  grace. 


xU  PREFACE 

The  careful  reader  of  this  book  may  possibly 
be  struck  with  the  different  point  of  view  from 
which  a  Latin  looks  at  many  questions  which 
to  an  Englishman  are  set  immovably  as  the 
foundations  of  the  world,  embedded  in  the 
putty  of  our  prejudice. 

For  instance,  on  arriving  at  the  open  plains 
after  a  tedious  journey  across  mountain  ranges 
and  through  forest  paths,  the  thing  that  in- 
terests the  author  most  is  that  the  land  in  the 
Columbian  llanos  is  not  held  in  many  instances 
by  individuals,  but  that  so  scant  is  popula- 
tion that  it  is  open  to  all  those  who  choose 
to  take  it  up.  This  does  not  strike  him  as 
a  folly  or  as  affording  room  for  speculation, 
but  simply  as  a  fact  which,  on  the  whole, 
he  seems  rather  to  approve  of,  but  without 
enthusiasm,  looking  upon  the  matter  as  a 
curious  generality,  but  not  inclining  to  refine 
or  to  reduce  it  to  any  theory  in  particular. 
A  state  of  mind  almost  impossible  for  Saxons 
(Anglo  or  Celtic),  who,  as  a  general  rule,  seem 
quite  incapable  of  looking  at  a  proposition  as 


PREFACE  xiii 

a  whole,  but  must  reduce  it  to  its  component 
parts. 

The  voyage  in  itself  was  memorable,  for  no 
one  of  the  party  seems  to  have  been  the  least 
the  kind  of  man  who  generally  ventures  upon 
journeys  of  the  sort,  and  furthermore  because, 
since  the  first  conquerors  went  down  the  river 
with  the  faith  that  in  their  case,  if  rightly  used, 
might  have  smoothed  out  all  the  mountain 
ranges  in  the  world,  no  one  except  a  stray 
adventurer,  or  india-rubber  trader,  has  followed 
in  their  steps.  Leal,  the  jaguar-hunter,  who 
slew  his  tigers  as  I  have  seen  them  slain  in 
Paraguay,  on  foot,  with  a  forked  stick  in  one 
hand  and  in  the  other  a  bamboo  lance ;  the 
Indian  guide  Gatifio  ;  and  the  young  Venezuelan 
Governor  of  a  State,  who,  shut  up  in  his  house, 
fought  to  the  death,  his  mistress,  an  ex-ballet 
dancer,  handing  him  up  loaded  guns,  are  to  the 
full  as  striking  characters  as  I  have  met  in  any 
book  of  travels  outside  the  types  that  crowd 
the  pages  of  the  '  Conquistadores '  of  America. 
The  naked  Indian  in  his  canoe,  before  whose 


xiv  PREFACE 

eyes  the  immeasurable  wealth  of  powder, 
looking-glasses,  a  red  flannel  shirt,  and  other 
treasures,  rich  and  rare  to  him,  were  spread, 
who  yet  had  strength  of  mind  to  scorn  them 
all  rather  than  pledge  his  liberty  for  two  days' 
paddling,  is  the  kind  of  Indian  that  merits  such 
a  chronicler  as  he  has  found.  Long  may  he 
paddle  on  the  cams  and  the  aguapeys,  and  die, 
still  crowned  with  feathers  and  with  liberty, 
as  did  his  fathers,  by  some  forgotten  beach  or 
by  some  morickal,  where  parrots  chatter  and 
toucans  flit  through  the  leaves,  and  humming- 
birds hover  like  bees  above  the  tropic  flowers. 

What  most  delights  me  in  the  book  is  that 
the  author  had  no  settled  plan  by  means  of 
which  he  strove  to  square  the  circle  of  the  globe. 

'  We  wandered,'  as  he  says,  '  with  the  definite 
aim  of  reaching  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Beyond 
that  we  did  not  venture  to  probe  too  deeply 
the  mysterious  and  wonderful  manifestations  of 
Nature,  but  took  them  as  they  appeared  to  our 
limited  means  of  vision  and  understanding,  and 
sought  nothing  beyond.' 


PREFACE  XV 

A  charming  way  to  travel,  and  a  wise,  and  if 
not  profitable  to  commerce,  yet  to  literature, 
for  books  writ  in  the  fashion  of  this  brief 
record  of  a  trip  through  the  great  waterways 
of  Venezuelan  and  Columbian  wilds,  although 
perhaps  not  '  epoch-making,'  yet  live  and 
flourish  when  the  smart  travellers*  tales,  bristling 
with  paltry  facts  and  futile  figures,  which  for 
a  season  were  sea-serpents  in  the  press,  have 
long  been  pulped  to  make  the  soles  of  ammuni- 
tion boots. 

R.   B.   CUNNINGHAME   GRAHAM. 


DOWN   THE    ORINOCO 
IN  A  CANOE 

CHAPTER    I 

The  hour  was  about  ten  one  evening  in 
December,  which  in  equatorial  Andine  lati- 
tudes is  a  month  of  clear  skies,  cold  winds, 
and  starry  nights.  The  moon  shone  brilliantly, 
casting  upon  the  ground  shadows  as  clear  as 
those  caused  by  a  strong  electric  light.  Truly, 
the  local  poet  who  said  that  such  nights  as 
these  might  serve  as  days  in  other  lands  was 
right. 

We  came  out — three  of  us,  Alex,  Fermin 
and  I — through  an  old  Spanish  gateway,  a 
rectangular  structure  of  adobes,  or  sun-burnt 
bricks,  capped  with  a  slanting  roof  of  tiles, 
dark-reddish  and  moss-covered,  with  a  swinging 
gate  of  cross  wooden  beams,  held  together  by 
iron    bolts.      This   was    the    gateway   of    the 

I 


2        DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

hacienda  of  Boita,  about  thirty  miles  north  of 
the  city  of  Bogota,  in  the  South  American 
Republic  of  Colombia.  We  passed  into  the 
open  road,  and  turned  our  horses  and  our 
minds  northwards. 

From  south  to  north,  as  far  as  eyes  could 
see,  stretched  the  road,  an  old  Spanish  cause- 
way, bordered  on  either  side  by  low-lying  stone 
fences,  in  front  of  which  were  ditches  filled 
with  water  and  covered  with  vegetation. 

The  ground  was  hard  with  the  consistency  of 
baked  clay.  As  no  rain  had  fallen  for  weeks, 
the  dust  was  thick,  and  the  horses'  hoofs  rang 
like  hammer-strokes  upon  muffled  or  broken 
brass.  We  let  the  reins  hang  loose,  and  the 
horses,  knowing  their  way,  started  at  a  brisk 
canter.  Wrapped  in  thought  and  in  our 
potichos^  we  journeyed  on. 

No  sound  was  audible ;  we  seemed  to  be 
travelling  through  a  deserted  or  dead  world  ; 
the  neighbouring  meadows,  black  beneath  the 
moon,  contrasted  with  the  grayish  white  line  of 
the  broad  causeway.  Now  and  then  the  solitary 
houses,  some  close  to  the  road,  some  far  back, 
loomed  up  with  the  magic-lantern  effects  of 
moonlight,  and  their  white  walls  seemed  like 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE        3 

huge  tombstones  in  that  lonely  cemetery. 
Sometimes  we  crossed  bridges,  under  which 
the  water  lay  motionless,  as  though  enchanted 
by  the  universal  stillness  ;  only  a  gentle  breeze, 
causing  ripples  on  the  neighbouring  pools,  made 
them  glitter  and  revealed  their  presence.  A 
cow  or  a  stray  heifer  would  poise  its  head 
across  the  stone  fence  and  watch  us  with 
wondering  moist  eyes,  whilst  two  tiny  columns 
of  condensed  breath  rose  from  its  nostrils. 

Beyond,  black  and  frowning,  misshapen  and 
mysterious,  the  huge  boulders  of  the  Andes 
raised  their  vague  outlines,  forming  a  sort  of 
irregular  circle,  in  some  directions  quite  close 
to  us,  in  others  lost  in  the  darkness  which  the 
moon  and  the  stars  were  too  remote  to  over- 
come. Indeed,  that  other  local  poet  was  also 
right  in  thinking  that  under  the  brilliant  moon 
those  mountains  looked  like  huge  sepulchres, 
wherein  are  stored  the  ashes  of  dead  worlds 
upon  which  judgment  had  been  passed. 

And  so  we  journeyed  on. 

Many  travellers  have  observed  that  when- 
ever a  voyage  of  a  certain  nature  is  under- 
taken— one  that  for  some  reason  or  other  differs 
from  the  ordinary  transference  of  one's  self  else- 

I — 2 


4        DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

where,  when  through  circumstances  beyond  our 
control  we  know  that  the  moment  of  starting 
necessarily  marks  an  epoch  in  our  lives,  even 
as  the  beofinninfr  of  a  descent  or  an  ascent  from 
the  summit  or  the  foot  of  a  mountain  neces- 
sarily marks  a  change  in  our  motions — our 
thoughts  fly  backwards,  and  not  only  cover 
the  immediate  time  and  space  behind  us,  but, 
once  started,  plunge,  so  to  speak,  with  the 
rapidity  inherent  to  them,  into  the  deepest 
recesses  of  our  memory,  so  that,  as  our  bodies 
are  carried  forward,  our  minds  revisit  old 
scenes,  we  hold  converse  with  old  friends, 
and  the  old-time  world  seems  to  live  and  throb 
again  within  our  hearts. 

Unheeding  the  clatter  of  the  horses'  hoofs, 
which  was  the  only  perceptible  noise,  my  mind 
flew  across  the  few  leagues  that  separated  me 
from  my  dear  quaint  old  native  town,  cradled 
there  to  the  south  at  the  foot  of  two  hills,  each 
crowned  by  a  tiny  church.  I  saw  its  streets 
meeting  at  right  angles,  its  two  streams, 
dubbed  rivers,  parched  with  thirst,  crawling 
under  the  ancient  arched  Spanish  bridges,  its 
low  houses,  with  their  enclosing  patios  planted 
with  roses  and  flowers  that  bloom  all  the  year 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE        5 

round,  with  fountains  murmuring  in  the  midst, 
and  creepers  covering  the  columns  and  the 
ceilings  of  the  open  corridors,  and  then  climb- 
ing out  of  sight ;  the  numerous  churches,  each 
one  with  its  familiar  legend  ;  the  convents — 
solid,  spacious — turned  into  barracks  or  public 
offices  or  colleges  ;  the  still  old  cells  desecrated, 
their  dividing  walls  torn  down  so  as  to  convert 
the  space  into  large  halls,  and,  ruthless  icono- 
clasm  having  carried  away  the  statues  of  the 
saints,  no  other  trace  of  religion  left  but  a  stone 
cross,  or  a  carved  saint's  face  set  too  high  above 
ground  to  be  reached  by  irreverent  hands. 

Yes,  there  was  the  little  Church  of  Holy 
Humility  —  El  Humilladero — an  adobe  struc- 
ture, a  mere  hut,  yet  reverenced  beyond  words 
as  being,  so  tradition  said,  the  first  church  built 
in  the  land.  And  not  far  from  it  the  Church  of 
la  Tercera  and  its  convent,  about  which  grue- 
some tales  were  told.  Its  monks  never  slept 
on  mattresses,  and,  as  they  felt  death  approach- 
ing, would  have  themselves  placed  upon  the 
ground  to  die  close  to  their  Mother  Earth ;  and 
one  of  them,  it  was  said,  for  some  misdeameanour 
or  possibly  greater  fault,  had  committed  suicide, 
and  wandered  headless — people  had  seen  him 


6        DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

— on  dark  and  stormy  nights  through  the 
neighbouring  street  of  the  Arch,  as  it  was 
called,  though  of  the  arch  nothing  but  the 
memory  remained.  And  close  to  that  convent 
of  la  Tercera  was  the  other  one  of  the  jolly 
Franciscan  Fathers,  four  beautiful  patios  sur- 
rounded with  broad  cloisters,  into  which  opened 
over  600  cells,  each  provided,  besides  the 
sitting  and  sleeping  room,  with  a  snug  kitchen, 
old  Moorish  style,  an  open  hearth  for  charcoal 
fire,  on  which  meats  were  roasted  and  earthen- 
ware saucepans  simmered  and  purred  all  day 
long,  extracting  the  juice  from  beef,  mutton, 
plantains,  maiioc,  green  corn,  potatoes,  and  the 
other  numerous  vegetables  of  that  region, 
forming  a  most  substantial  broth,  a  peculiarly 
rich  pot-aii-feu  which  enabled  the  reverend 
monks  to  recruit  their  strength  and  spirits  after 
the  pious  labours  of  the  day  ;  and  with  this 
came,  it  is  said,  a  copious  supply  of  that  beer, 
chicka,  brewed  from  molasses  and  Indian  corn, 
strong  and  delicious — to  those  who  like  it. 
These  reverend  monks,  it  is  said,  owned  broad 
lands  and  numerous  herds,  and  each  had  a 
lay  brother  who  looked  after  the  material  wants 
of    his    superior,    and    received    daily    rations 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE        7 

sufficient  for  ten  or  twenty  men,  so  that  a 
great  part  of  them  was  sold  by  the  monks 
to  the  profane  outside  the  cloister  walls.  As 
the  lay  brother  looked  after  all  these  worldly 
interests,  he  enabled  the  monk  to  devote  his 
whole  time  and  attention  to  finding  a  smooth 
path  to  heaven,  not  only  for  himself,  but  for  as 
many  others  of  his  fellow-creatures  as  he  met. 

But  though  of  good  cheer,  they  were  not 
lacking  in  piety,  nor  were  they  unable  to  with- 
stand temptation.  Their  church  was  beautiful, 
all  full  of  gilt  columns,  carved  woodwork, 
niches  with  statues  of  saints  displaying  rich 
silks  and  gems  and  gold  embroidery. 

And  though  many  of  these  things  had 
disappeared  in  my  day,  and  of  the  monks  only 
a  few  more  vital  spirits  survived,  downcast  and 
forlorn,  lamenting  the  good  old  times,  yet 
enough  remained  to  give  an  idea  of  the  happier 
age. 

A  proof  of  the  virtue  of  the  monks  was 
visible  at  the  entrance  of  the  church  looking  on 
the  main  street,  where  the  Evil  One  himself 
had  branded  it,  so  to  say,  for  the  greater  glory 
of  God  and  the  renown  of  the  convent. 

It    was     whispered    that    Father    Antonio, 


8        DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

who  combined  profane  accomplishments  with 
spiritual  insight,  skilled  in  playing  the  guitar, 
not  averse  to  a  song  or  two,  fond  of  cards  for  a 
friendly  quiet  game  with  the  Father  Superior 
and  two  or  three  other  plump,  kind-hearted 
brethren,  where  small  sums  were  staked  merely 
to  give  zest  to  the  game,  discovered  to  his 
horror  one  night  that  the  Evil  One,  possibly  in 
memory  of  his  namesake  (the  monk's,  not  the 
Evil  One's),  had  decided  to  tempt  his  virtue, 
and  appeared  in  his  cell  in  the  guise  of  a 
beautiful  damsel, 

Alas  !  the  Evil  One  had  reckoned  without 
his  host.  Holy  water  was  poured  upon  him, 
the  cross  with  the  Redeemer  nailed  on  it 
which  lay  handy  was  taken  up  by  Antonio,  so 
that  Beelzebub  in  his  fright  jumped  out  of  the 
window  with  such  force  that  his  cloven  foot  left 
its  imprint  upon  the  granite  slab  outside  the 
church,  and  this  imprint  I  saw  myself  in  my  very 
young  years.  Although  many  people  continue 
to  see  it,  I  have  grown  so  short-sighted  that, 
strive  as  I  may,  the  stone  now  appears  un- 
touched and  like  the  others.  But  then  these 
things  will  happen,  and  they  certainly  should 
not  lead  us  to  doubt  so  pious  a  tradition. 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE        9 

And  so  all  the  old  memories  of  the  town  kept 
passing  before  me.  I  saw  a  living  panorama, 
silent,  bathed  in  mysterious  light,  moving 
slowly  in  the  background  of  the  mind,  large, 
infinite  in  its  magnitude,  with  space  in  it  for 
men  and  buildings  and  mountains  and  rivers 
and  broad  plains  and  leafy  forests,  and,  what  is 
more,  with  space  in  it  for  Time,  the  boundless 
Time  that  contains  all  and  everything. 

Schooldays,  holidays  spent  in  the  neighbour- 
ing towns  and  villages  which  lie  in  the  warmer 
valleys,  my  first  voyage  to  a  certain  distance, 
and  then  across  the  ocean — life,  in  fact,  with  its 
ebb  and  flow  under  various  suns  and  in 
different  continents — all  came  back;  but  it  were 
out  of  place  to  give  my  reflectious  on  them  here. 

Then,  pausing  for  one  moment  as  a  bird  alights 
on  the  mast  of  a  ship  before  launching  forth 
into  mid-ocean,  my  mind  rested  for  an  instant 
on  the  old  cemetery  where  so  many  loved  ones 
slumbered.  Alas !  when  we  leave  the  graves  of 
those  whom  we  have  loved,  not  knowing  when 
we  shall  again  kneel  upon  the  sod  that  covers 
them,  we  feel  that  death  itself  has  not  severed 
the  link  that  bound  us  to  those  who  were  blood 
of  our  blood  and  bone  of  our  bone. 


CHAPTER  II 

A  LITTLE  geography  may  not  be  amiss  here. 
A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  that  the  city  of 
Bogota  is  situated  upon  a  vast  plateau,  at  an 
altitude  of  about  8,500  feet  above  sea-level, 
4  degrees  from  the  equator,  and  75  degrees 
to  the  west  of  Greenwich.  Its  position  in 
the  continent  is  central.  It  is  perched  like  a 
nest  high  up  in  the  mountains.  To  reach  the 
ocean,  and  thus  the  outer  world,  the  inhabitants 
of  Bogota  are  even  now  still  compelled  to  have 
recourse  to  quite  primitive  methods  ;  true,  there 
are  some  apologies  for  railways  starting  north- 
ward, southward  and  westward,  but  in  some 
cases  their  impetus  ends  as  soon  as  they 
reach  the  end  of  the  plain,  and  in  others  long 
before  attaining  that  distance.  Once  the 
railway  journey  finished — which  does  not  ex- 
ceed two  or  three  hours  on  any  of  the  lines — 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE       ii 

the  traveller  has  to  content  himself  with  the 
ancient  and  slow  method  of  riding,  mostly  mule 
riding.  The  ground  is  so  broken  and  the  roads 
are  so  bad  that  horses  could  not  cross  them  as 
safely  as  that  thoughtful,  meditative,  and  much- 
maligned  animal  the  mule.  After  covering  a 
distance  of  some  ninety  to  one  hundred  miles 
westward,  the  traveller  reaches  the  town  of 
Honda,  which  lies  on  the  Magdalena  River. 
Here  steam-boats  are  to  be  found,  stern- wheeled, 
shallow-bottomed,  drawing  no  more  than  from 
2j  to  3  feet,  in  which,  within  four  or  five  days, 
he  makes  the  journey  down  to  the  sea-coast. 

The  map  of  the  country  would  seem  to  show 
that  the  easiest  way  from  the  capital  to  the 
ocean  would  be  towards  the  Pacific,  and  as  the 
crow  flies  such  is  the  case ;  but  between  Bogota 
and  the  Pacific  Ocean  the  Andes,  at  some 
period  of  their  youth,  must  have  frolicked  and 
gambolled  amongst  themselves  and  lost  their 
way  home,  so  that  they  now  form  the  most 
rugged  country  imaginable.  Geographers, 
with  that  thirst  for  classification  that  afflicts — or 
should  I  rather  say  animates  ? — men  of  science, 
speak  of  two  or  three  chains  of  mountains. 
The  average  man,  however,  who  has  to  travel 


12      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

over  that  country,  conceives  his  task  as  corre- 
sponding to  a  start  made  from  one  end  of  a  huge 
comb,  following  the  developments  of  it  from  the 
root  to  the  point  of  each  tooth  until  Providence 
and  Nature  take  pity  on  him,  and  land  him,  so 
to  speak,  on  the  sea-shore. 

Bogota  is  no  thoroughfare.  When  you  get 
there,  there  you  are,  and  if  you  go  there,  it  is 
because  you  were  bent  on  it ;  it  is  not  like 
other  towns  that  may  be  on  the  road  to  some- 
where else,  so  that  travellers  may  chance  to 
find  themselves  there. 

The  plateau  of  Bogota  proper  was  formerly — 
no  one  knows  how  many  centuries  or  thousands 
of  years  ago — a  lake  of  about  eighty  square 
miles  encased  between  the  surrounding-  moun- 
tains.  The  waters  of  the  lake  broke  through 
the  barrier  of  mountains  towards  the  south, 
draining  it,  and  leaving  the  plateau  dry,  save 
for  some  small  lakes  that  dot  it  here  and  there, 
and  a  few  rivers  of  no  great  importance.  I 
could  not  help  thinking  that  this  immense 
lake  thus  held  aloft  upon  that  mighty  pedestal 
at  such  an  altitude  formed  a  sort  of  gigantic 
goblet  such  as  is  rarely  seen  under  the  sun. 
The  river  that  marks  the  course  through  which 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      13 

the  waters  are  supposed  to  have  been  drained 
drags  its  sluggish  waves  meandering  in  many 
turns  and  twists  from  north  to  south  along  the 
plain,  and  gives  a  sudden  leap  of  750  feet 
through  the  open  gap  on  the  mountain-side, 
forming  those  magnificent  waterfalls  called  the 
Tequendama.  The  river  plunges  headlong,  as 
if  to  make  up  for  its  previous  semi  stagnant 
condition  ;  it  disappears  between  two  mighty 
walls  of  stone,  polished  as  if  chiselled  by  the 
hand  of  man  ;  it  roars  with  a  deafening  sound  ; 
its  waters  appear,  as  they  curl  over  the  abyss, 
white  as  the  wool  of  a  lamb,  and  their  consis- 
tency conveys  the  impression  of  wool  rather 
than  that  of  snow.  The  morning  sun  plays 
upon  the  mass  of  waters,  and  crowns  it  with  a 
halo  of  rainbows  varying  in  size.  On  the 
borders  of  the  river,  at  the  place  where  the 
cataract  springs,  are  to  be  seen  evergreens  and 
pine-trees,  and  other  such  plants  belonging  to 
the  temperate  or  cold  zones  ;  down  below, 
where  the  water  falls,  and  the  river  reappears 
like  a  dying  stream  following  its  course  in  the 
lower  valley,  palm-trees  and  tropical  vegetation 
are  to  be  seen,  and  birds  of  variegated  plumage, 
parrots,   cockatoos,  parroquets  and  others,  fly 


14      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

like  living  arrows  from  the  sunlight,  and  plunge 
into  the  mist  with  piercing  shrieks  amidst  the 
deafening  roar  of  the  cataract. 

As  we  journeyed  on  in  the  cool  night  air,  it 
seemed  to  me  that  the  whole  country — north, 
south,  east  and  west — lay  at  my  feet,  and  to  the 
mind's  eye  it  appeared  with  its  vast  interminable 
plains  to  the  east  crossed  by  numberless  rivers, 
the  mountain  region  to  the  north  on  the  western 
side  of  the  Magdalena  Valley,  the  broad  plains 
in  the  Lower  Magdalena,  and  the  rugged 
mountainous  district  of  Antioquia  on  the 
western  side  of  the  river,  and  then  mountains 
and  more  mountains  towards  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

Surely,  if  a  journey  in  these  days  presents 
such  difficulties,  the  first  journey  undertaken  by 
the  conquerors  who  discovered  the  plateau 
of  Bogotd  may  be  held  for  a  feat  worthy  of 
those  men  who,  whatever  their  faults,  were 
brave  among  the  bravest. 

Towards  the  east  of  the  Magdalena  River,  on 
the  coast  of  the  Atlantic,  the  city  of  Santa 
Marta  had  been  founded  somewhere  in  1530. 
News  of  the  vast  empire  alleged  to  exist  in  the 
interior  of  the  country  had  reached  the  founders 
of  the  town,  and  they  soon  decided  to  conquer 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE       15 

that  region  about  which  such  marvels  were  told. 
In  the  month  of  August,  1536,  an  expedition 
of  700  soldiers,  infantry,  and  80  horse  left 
Santa  Marta  to  penetrate  into  the  heart  of  the 
continent,  confident  in  their  courage,  and 
lusting  for  gold  and  adventure.  This  part  of 
the  expedition  marched  by  land,  and  200  more 
men  journeyed  in  boats  along  the  river 
Magdalena. 

A  full  narrative  of  their  adventures  would  be 
long.  They  met  foes  large  and  small,  from 
poisonous  reptiles  and  the  numerous  insects 
which  made  life  a  burden,  to  tigers  and 
alligators :  add  to  these  fevers  and  illnesses 
absolutely  unknown  to  them.  It  is  said  that 
one  man,  whilst  sleeping  in  camp  with  all  his 
companions,  was  snatched  from  his  hammock 
by  a  famished  tiger.  At  times  the  rank  and 
file  seemed  ripe  for  mutiny,  but  the  captain  was 
a  man  of  iron.  His  name  was  Gonzalo  Jimenez 
de  Quesada.  Though  himself  sore  smitten  by 
some  disease  peculiar  to  the  locality,  he  kept  the 
lead,  and  dragged  the  rest  in  his  train.  Praise 
is  likewise  due  to  the  chaplain  of  the  expedition, 
Domingo  de  las  Casas,  who  stoutly  supported 
the  commander.     This  friar  was  a  kinsman  of 


i6      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

that  other  friar  Bartolom^  de  las  Casas,  whose 
unwearying  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  native  races 
won  for  him  the  well-deserved  name  of  '  Pro- 
tector of  the  Indians.' 

After  a  while  the  boats  and  the  shores  of  the 
great  river  were  abandoned,  and  the  men  found 
themselves  in  a  mountainous  country  where  the 
temperature  became  more  tolerable  and  pleasant 
as  they  climbed  higher.  Finally,  their  eyes 
beheld  the  Empire  of  the  Chibchas.  What  a 
joy — after  toil  and  suffering  which  had  lasted 
over  seventeen  months,  when  only  i6o  of  the 
original  expedition  were  left — to  gaze  upon  a 
land  where  cultivated  fields  were  seen  in  all 
directions,  and  the  hearth-smoke  rising  from 
the  houses  to  heaven  !  This  was  the  land  of 
the  Chibchas,  who  formed  an  empire  second 
only  to  that  of  the  Incas  of  Peru  and  the 
Aztecs  of  Mexico.  They  had  a  religion — by 
no  means  a  bad  one  as  religions  went  amongst 
the  American  aborigines — they  had  their  code 
of  laws,  their  division  of  time,  their  rules 
and  codes  in  all  matters  appertaining  to 
family  life  and  administration  of  government ; 
they  tilled  the  soil,  they  believed  in  the  im- 
mortality  of   the   soul,   they    reverenced   their 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE       17 

dead,  and  practised   barter  according  to  well- 
defined  laws. 

The  thousands  and  thousands  of  soldiers 
which  the  Zipa  or  King  of  the  Chibchas  could 
bring  against  the  Spaniards  were  overawed 
rather  than  overcome  by  force.  The  greater 
sagacity  of  the  Spaniards,  coupled  with  their 
courage,  soon  made  them  masters  of  the  land. 
Jimenez  de  Ouesada  founded  the  city  of  Bogota 
in  1537.  He  chose  a  spot  on  the  plains  which 
suited  him — where  the  city  now  stands — and, 
clad  in  full  armour,  surrounded  by  his  com- 
panions and  by  a  large  crowd  of  Indians, 
plucked  some  grass  from  the  ground,  and, 
unsheathing  his  sword,  declared  that  he  took 
possession  of  the  land  for  the  greater  glory  of 
God  as  the  property  of  his  King  and  master, 
Charles  V.  of  Spain.  Then  turning,  with  a 
fierce  glance,  to  those  who  surrounded  him,  he 
challenged  one  and  all  to  single  combat  should 
they  dare  to  dispute  his  action.  Naturally,  no 
dispute  arose,  and  so  the  title  was  acquired. 
They  had  their  own  peculiar  ways,  those  old 
Spanish  conquerors  !  A  similar  method  was 
followed  by  Nuiiez  de  Balboa,  when,  in  the 
name  of  his  King  and  master,  he  took  posses- 

2 


i8      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

sion  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  with  whatever  lands 
and  islands  might  border  on  it,  stepping  into 
the  waters  clad  in  full  armour,  holding  the  flag 
of  Spain  in  his  left  hand,  and  his  trusty  Toledo 
blade — la  de  Jiianes — in  his  right. 

To  speak  of  this  conquest  of  the  Chibcha 
Empire  recalls  the  fact  that  the  land  of  Bogota 
was  really  the  land  of  El  Dorado.  El  Dorado 
in  Spanish  means  the  gilt  one,  the  man  covered 
with  gold,  and  all  chroniclers  and  historians  of 
the  early  period  are  agreed  as  to  the  origin  of 
the  tradition. 

The  King  of  the  Chibchas,  amongst  whom 
power  and  property  passed  by  law  of  inheri- 
tance from  uncle  to  nephew,  was  called  the 
Zipa.  His  power  as  a  monarch  was  absolute, 
but  to  attain  the  dignity  of  what  we  should 
nowadays  call  Crown  Prince,  and  to  become 
in  due  course  King,  it  was  not  enough  to  be  a 
nephew,  or  even  to  be  the  right  nephew.  The 
prospective  heir  to  the  throne  had  to  qualify 
himself  by  passing  through  an  ordeal  which 
Princes  of  other  nations  and  other  times  would 
certainly  find  most  obnoxious.  He  had  to  live 
in  a  cave  for  six  years,  fasting  the  whole  time, 
with   limited  rations,  barely  enough  to  sustain 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE       19 

life.  No  meat  or  salt  were  to  be  eaten  during 
the  whole  time.  He  must  see  no  one,  with  the 
exception  of  his  male  servants,  nor  was  he  even 
allowed  to  gaze  upon  the  sun.  Only  after  sun- 
set and  before  sunrise  might  he  issue  from  his 
cave.  After  this  ordeal  he  was  qualified,  but 
should  he  have  so  much  as  cast  his  eyes  upon 
a  woman  during  that  period,  his  rights  to 
the  throne  were  lost.  The  consecration,  so  to 
speak,  of  the  Zipa  took  the  form  of  a  most 
elaborate  ceremony.  The  prospective  Zipa 
would  betake  himself — being  carried  upon  a 
special  sort  of  frame  so  arranged  that  twenty 
men  standing  under  it  could  lift  it  upon  their 
shoulders — to  one  of  the  five  sacred  lakes  that 
still  exist  in  the  plateau,  generally  to  the  lake 
of  Guatavita.  There,  stripped  naked,  his  body 
was  smeared  with  a  resinous  substance,  upon 
which  gold-dust  was  sprinkled  in  large  quanti- 
ties. Naturally,  after  this  process  the  man 
appeared  like  unto  a  very  statue  of  gold.  Two 
other  high  dignitaries  or  chiefs,  called  Caciques, 
as  nude  as  the  Zipa,  would  go  with  him  upon  a 
raft  of  twisted  reeds  and  slowly  paddle  into  the 
centre  of  the  lake.  All  round  the  shore  was  a 
dense  crowd,  burning  a  species  of  aromatic  herb 

2 — 2 


20      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

which  produced  clouds  of  smoke.  On  every 
hand  was  heard  the  sound  of  music,  or,  rather, 
of  noises  representing  the  music  customary 
at  all  ceremonies.  On  the  raft,  at  the  feet  of 
the  Zipa,  lay  a  huge  pile  of  gold  and  emeralds. 
Each  of  his  companions,  too,  had  gold  and 
emeralds,  wherewith  to  propitiate  the  god  in 
whose  honour  the  ceremony  was  performed. 
One  of  the  chiefs  in  the  raft  would  raise  a 
white  flag  and  wave  it.  The  noise  on  the 
shores  became  deafening,  whilst  the  gilded 
Zipa  threw  into  the  lake  all  the  gold  and  all 
the  emeralds  ;  then  his  companions  would 
follow  his  example.  When  all  the  gold  and 
emeralds  on  the  raft  had  been  cast  into  the 
lake,  the  people  ashore  also  made  their  offerings 
of  gold.  Thus,  after  six  years'  fasting,  the 
Zipa  was  (so  to  put  it)  anointed  or  qualified  for 
kingship.  On  reaching  the  land  the  period  of 
abstinence  came  to  an  end,  and  now  that  the 
Zipa  was  full-fledged  Crown  Prince,  or  Zipa 
(if  his  predecessor  should  have  chanced  to  die), 
his  first  act  was  to  get  gloriously  drunk. 

From  the  early  days  of  the  conquest,  efforts 
were  made  to  drain  the  five  lakes,  from  which 
numerous  samples  of  gold  idols  and   roughly- 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      21 

worked  gold  have  been  recovered.  Even  re- 
cently a  company  was  formed  in  England  for 
that  purpose.  The  tradition  in  this  case  being 
so  universal,  it  seems  rational  to  assume  that 
vast  treasures  must  lie  at  the  bottom  of  these 
lakes,  because  the  Chibchas  were  an  ancient 
race,  and  their  ceremonies  must  have  been 
repeated  during  centuries.  The  country  also 
is  rich  in  emeralds  and  in  gold — hence  the 
belief  in  the  large  amount  of  treasure  to  be 
obtained  from  those  lakes  whose  waters  look  so 
placid. 

Some  years  ago  in  Bogota  an  enthusiast, 
who  sought  to  form  a  company  for  the  purpose 
of  draining  one  of  the  lakes,  carried  about  with 
him  a  few  samples  of  gold,  idols  and  suchlike, 
which,  so  he  said,  had  been  brought  to  light 
by  a  man  whom  he  named,  a  good  diver,  who 
plunged  five  times  into  the  lake,  and  after 
each  plunge  brought  up  one  of  the  specimens 
exhibited.  He  argued  thus  :  The  bottom  of 
the  lake  must  be  practically  studded  with  gold, 
since  Mr.  X.  succeeded  each  time.  There  are 
millions  in  the  lake,  and  all  that  is  needed  is  a 
little  money  to  drain  it. 

The  argument   seemed  so  strong,   and   the 


22       DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

gold  gleamed  so  bright  in  his  hands,  that  he 
obtained  numerous  subscribers,  until  he  had  the 
misfortune  to  come  across  one  of  those  sceptics 
impervious  to  reason,  who,  after  listening  to 
him,  replied  :  'Yes,  I  have  no  doubt  that  there 
must  be  millions  in  the  lake,  since  X.  at  each 
plunge  brought  out  a  bit  of  gold  like  those  you 
show  me  ;  but  what  I  cannot  for  the  life  of  me 
understand  is  why  he  is  not  still  plunging — it 
seems  so  easy !'  The  tale  went  round  the 
town,  and  the  lake  was  not  drained,  nor  has 
it  been  up  to  the  present. 

This  gilding  of  the  man  is  the  germ  of  the 
legend  of  El  Dorado,  which  has  cost  so 
much  blood,  and  in  search  of  which  so 
many  thousands  and  thousands  of  men  have 
wandered  during  past  centuries  in  all  possible 
directions  on  their  bootless  quest. 


CHAPTER  III 

Returning  to  the  lake,  and  now  gathering  the 
information  furnished  by  geology,  whose  silent 
annals  are  so  carefully  and  truthfully  recorded 
(being  as  they  are  beyond  reach  of  man's 
little  contentions  and  petty  adjustments),  we 
find  that  the  original  lake  covered  an  area  of 
about  seventy-five  square  miles,  and  attained 
great  depths.  Its  placid  waters,  beating  possibly 
for  centuries  against  the  environing  rocks,  have 
left  their  marks,  from  which  it  may  be  seen 
that  in  some  places  the  depth  was  1 20  feet,  and 
in  others  180. 

We  cannot  fix  the  date  of  the  break  in  the 
mountains  which  allowed  the  drain  to  occur. 
So  far  man  has  not  succeeded  in  grasping  with 
invariable  accuracy  the  chronology  of  the  ad- 
mirable geological  archives  to  which  we  have 
referred,  and  in  matters  of  this  kind  a  discre- 
pancy of  a  few  hundred  years  more  or  less  is 


24       DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

accepted  as  a  trifle  scarcely  worth  mentioning. 
And  possibly  this  may  be  right.  For  man's 
passage  through  life  is  so  short  that  his  con- 
ception of  time  cannot  be  applied  to  Nature, 
whose  evolutions,  though  apparently  protracted 
and  very  slow  to  see,  in  truth  are  sure  to 
develop  themselves  harmoniously  in  every  way, 
as  to  time  inclusive. 

But  no  matter  how  far  back  the  draining  of 
the  great  lake  may  have  taken  place,  it  had 
left  its  memory  and  impression,  not  only  on 
the  mountains  and  the  rocks,  but  also  in  the 
minds  of  men.  The  legend  ran  thus  :  At  one 
time  there  came  among  the  Chibchas  a  man 
differing  in  aspect  from  the  inhabitants  of  the 
plateau,  a  man  from  the  East,  the  land  where 
the  sun  rises,  and  from  the  low  plains  where 
the  mighty  rivers  speed  to  the  ocean.  He  had 
taught  them  the  arts  of  peace,  the  cultivation 
of  the  soil,  the  division  of  time  ;  he  had  estab- 
lished their  laws,  the  precepts  by  which  their 
life  was  to  be  guided,  their  form  of  govern- 
ment ;  in  one  word,  he  had  been  their  apostle 
and  lecrislator.  His  name  was  Bochica  or 
Zuhe.  He  resembled  in  aspect  the  Europeans 
who  invaded  the  country  under  Quesada. 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      25 

It  is  asserted  by  a  pious  Spanish  Bishop,  who 
in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  wrote 
the  history  of  the  discovery  and  conquest  of 
the  Chibcha  kingdom,  that  the  said  Bochica  was 
none  other  than  the  Apostle  St.  Bartholomew, 
as  to  whose  final  work  and  preachings  there  is 
(not  to  overstate  the  case)  some  obscurity.  The 
good  old  Bishop  states  that,  as  the  Christian 
faith,  according  to  the  Divine  decree,  was  to 
be  preached  in  every  corner  of  the  earth,  it 
must  have  also  been  preached  amongst  the 
Chibchas,  and  that,  as  nothing  was  known  with 
certainty  about  the  final  whereabouts  of  the 
Apostle  Bartholomew,  and  he  was  not  unlike 
the  description  made  of  Bochica  by  the  Chib- 
chas (which,  by-the-by,  was  such  that  it  might 
have  fitted  any  white  man  with  a  long  blonde 
beard),  it  is  evident  that  the  saint  must  have 
visited  those  Andine  regions.  Furthermore, 
he  adds,  there  is  a  stone  on  one  of  the  moun- 
tains, situated  between  the  plateau  of  Bogotd 
and  the  eastern  plains,  which  bears  the  foot- 
prints of  the  saint.  This,  to  many  people,  is 
decisive,  and  I,  for  my  part,  am  not  going 
to  gainsay  it,  since  it  serves  two  important 
ends.      It  explains   the  saint's  whereabouts  in 


26      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

a  most  creditable  and  appropriate  fashion,  and 
it  puts  a  definite  end  to  all  doubts  concerning 
Bochica's  identity.  We  cannot  be  too  grateful 
to  those  who  thus  afford  pleasant  explanations 
of  matters  which  would  otherwise  be  intricate  and 
difficult,  perhaps  even  impossible,  of  solution. 

The  legend  went  on  to  say  that  the  god  of 
the  Chibchas  (Chibchacum),  becoming  irate  at 
their  excesses  and  vices,  flooded  the  plain  where 
they  lived,  by  turning  into  it  several  neigh- 
bouring rivers.  The  inhabitants,  or  such  of 
them  as  were  not  drowned,  took  refuge  on  the 
neighbouring  mountain-tops,  where,  animated 
by  that  fervour  and  love  of  the  Deity  which 
takes  possession  of  every  true  believer  when 
he  finds  himself  thoroughly  cornered,  they 
prayed  abundantly  to  the  Bochica,  whose  pre- 
cepts they  had  utterly  forgotten.  He,  of  course, 
took  pity  on  them,  and,  appearing  amidst  them 
on  the  mountain-top  one  afternoon  in  all  the 
glory  of  the  setting  sun,  which  covered  him 
as  with  a  sort  of  royal  mantle,  he  dashed  his 
golden  sceptre  against  the  mighty  granite  wall 
of  the  nearest  mountain,  which  opened  at  the 
blow  into  the  gap  through  which  the  waters 
poured,   draining    the    lake,   and   leaving    as   a 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE       27 

memorial  of  his  power  and  his  love  for  his  chosen 
people  those  waterfalls  whose  thunder  goes  up 
like  a  perennial  hymn  to  heaven  high  above 
the  trees  that  crown  the  mountain-tops,  and 
whose  sprays  are  as  incense  for  ever,  wreathing 
on  high  at  the  foot  of  a  stupendous  altar. 

The  cataract  takes  two  leaps,  first  striking 
a  protruding  ledge  at  a  distance  of  about 
75  feet  from  the  starting-point,  a  sort  of 
spring  -  board  from  which  the  other  mighty 
leap  is  taken.  Close  to  the  shore,  at  a 
distance  of  about  6  feet,  on  the  very  brim 
of  the  abyss,  there  is  a  rock  about  10  feet 
square,  which,  when  the  waters  are  low,  breaks 
the  river,  and  appears  like  a  sinking  island  in 
the  mass  of  foaming  waters.  The  rock  is 
slippery,  being  covered  with  moss,  which  the 
waters  and  the  mists  keep  constantly  wet. 
Bolivar,  the  soldier  to  whose  tenacity  and 
genius  Colombia  and  four  other  South  American 
republics  owe  their  political  independence,  once 
visited  the  cataracts,  and  stood  on  the  very 
edge  of  the  abyss ;  glancing  fitfully  at  the 
small  round  island  of  stone  that  stood  in  the 
very  centre  of  the  waters,  fascinated  by  the 
danger,  he  jumped,  booted  and  spurred  as  he 


28      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

was,  upon  the  stone,  thus  standing  in  the 
very  vortex  of  the  boiHng  current.  After  re- 
maining there  for  a  few  minutes  he  jumped 
back.  The  tale  is  interesting,  for  few  men 
indeed  have  the  courage  and  nerve  required, 
once  upon  the  rock,  not  to  fall  from  it  and 
disappear  in  a  shroud  fit  for  any  man,  however 
great. 

After  the  little  scene  of  the  foundation  of 
Bogotd,  in  what  later  on  became  the  public 
square  of  the  city,  Quesada  devoted  himself 
to  establishing  a  government.  I  cannot  help 
thinking  that  challenges  like  that  which  he 
flung  down  for  the  purpose  of  establishing 
the  right  of  property  are,  to  say  the  least, 
peculiar.  True  it  is  that  no  one  contradicted, 
and,  according  to  the  old  proverb,  silence  gives 
consent.  A  comfortable  little  tag  this,  espe- 
cially when  you  can  gag  the  other  side !  And 
a  most  serviceable  maxim  to  burglars,  con- 
querors, and,  in  fact,  all  such  as  practise  the 
art  of  invading  somebody  else's  premises,  and 
taking  violent  possession  of  the  premises  and 
all  that  may  be  found  on  them.  What  I  cannot 
for  the  life  of  me  understand  is,  how  it  is  that, 
the  process  being  identical  in  essence,  so  many 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE       29 

worthy  men  and  so  many  worthy  nations  punish 
the  misunderstood  burglar,  and  bestow  honours, 
praise,  and,  so  far  as  it  lies  in  their  power, 
glory,  upon  the  conqueror.  It  seems  a  pity  that 
the  gentle  moralists  who  act  in  this  puzzling 
fashion  have  not  found  time  to  indicate  the 
point,  in  the  process  of  acquiring  somebody 
else's  property  by  violence  and  bloodshed,  when 
the  vastness  of  the  undertaking  transfigures 
crime  into  virtue.  The  average  man  would 
hold  it  for  a  boon  if  those  competent  to  do 
it  were  to  fix  the  limit,  just  as  in  chemistry 
a  freezing  or  a  boiling  point  is  marked  by  a 
certain  number  of  degrees  of  heat.  What  a 
blessing  it  would  be  for  the  rest  of  us  poor 
mortals,  who  find  ourselves  beset  by  many 
doubts,  and  who  through  ignorance  are  prone 
to  fall  into  grave  errors  !  but  as  these  hopes 
are  certainly  beyond  fulfilment,  and  are  possibly 
out  of  place,  it  is  better  to  drop  them. 

Quesada,  after  vanquishing  the  Chibchas  and 
becoming  lord  of  the  land,  did  not  have  it  all 
his  own  way.  The  fame  of  El  Dorado  existed 
all  over  the  continent.  Though  peopled  by 
numerous  tribes,  mostly  hostile  to  each  other, 
some  knowledge  of  the  power  of  the  Chibcha 


30      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

Empire,  covering  over  5,000  square  miles  and 
including  a  population  estimated  at  over  a 
million  and  a  half  of  inhabitants,  had  in  the 
course  of  centuries  slowly  permeated  to  very 
remote  parts  of  what  is  now  known  as  South 
America.  In  the  land  of  Quito,  situated  below 
the  equator,  it  is  said  that  the  conquerors  who 
had  invaded  it  heard  from  an  Indian  of  the 
wonderful  El  Dorado.  The  Indian's  tale  must 
have  been  enhanced  with  all  the  charms  in- 
vented by  a  vivid  imagination,  playing  safely 
at  a  distance.  This  set  many  of  the  conquerors 
on  the  road  to  Bogotd.  Don  Sebastian  de 
Belalcazar,  who  had  entered  the  continent  by 
the  Pacific,  led  his  troops  —  not  over  200 
in  number  at  the  end  of  the  journey — to  the 
Bogota  plateau,  thus  making  a  march  of 
several  hundred  leagues  across  forest  and 
mountains,  attracted  by  the  renown  of  the  land 
of  El  Dorado.  Another  expedition  which  had 
entered  the  continent  by  the  north-east  coast 
of  the  Atlantic,  and  had  wandered  along  the 
Orinoco  Valley  for  over  two  years,  eventually 
found  itself  near  the  plateau,  and  entered  it, 
so  that,  shortly  after  his  arrival  into  the  country 
and  his  conquest  of  it,  Quesada  found  himself 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      31 

confronted  with  two  powerful  rivals.  For  the 
moment  there  was  great  danger  that  the 
conquerors  might  come  to  blows  amongst 
themselves,  but  Quesada's  political  ability 
matched  his  military  gifts,  and  arrangements 
were  soon  made  by  which  the  three  expedi- 
tions were  merged  into  one,  gold  and  emeralds 
distributed  amongst  the  soldiers,  numerous 
offices  created,  taxes  established,  the  Indians 
and  their  belongings  distributed  amongst  the 
Christian  conquerors,  and  the  reign  of  civiliza- 
tion established  to  the  greater  glory  of  God, 
and  that  of  his  beloved  monarch,  the  King  of 
all  the  Spains. 

One  detail  deserves  mention  as  an  instance 
of  tenacious  though  unpretending  heroism. 
The  men  who  had  come  along  the  Orinoco 
had  wandered  for  many  weary  months,  and  at 
times  had  been  on  the  point  of  starvation, 
so  that  all  their  leather  equipment  had  been 
devoured.  With  the  expedition  marched  a 
friar  who  carried  with  him  a  fine  Spanish  cock 
and  four  hens.  During  that  long  journey, 
which  cost  the  lives  of  so  many  men,  the 
murderous  attempts  made  against  this  feathered 
family  were  past  counting ;  yet  the  useful  birds 


32       DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

were  saved,  and  formed  the  basis  of  an  in- 
numerable progeny  in  the  land  of  Colombia. 
The  incident  seems  trivial,  but,  if  well  weighed, 
the  friar's  sustained  effort  against  others,  and 
doubtless  against  himself,  to  save  the  precious 
germ,  deserves  the  highest  praise. 

After  months  of  hunger,  when  the  plenty 
found  on  the  plateau  had  restored  equanimity 
to  the  hearts  of  the  conquerors,  they  must  have 
felt  how  much  they  owed  to  the  good  friar, 
who,  even  if  his  sermons — about  which  I  know 
nothing — may  not  have  been  of  the  best,  had 
left  behind  him  the  hens  to  lay  the  egg  so  dear 
to  civilized  man,  and  the  chanticleer  to  sing  the 
praises  of  the  Almighty  and  to  remind  everyone 
in  this  instance  of  the  humble  beings  who  serve 
Him  and  their  fellow-creatures  in  such  a  prac- 
tical way. 

It  is  not  at  all  strange  that  the  Spanish 
conquerors  swallowed  the  wonderful  tales  of 
incalculable  treasure  to  be  found  in  different 
parts  of  the  continent  which  they  had  just 
discovered.  Columbus  himself,  in  his  second 
voyage,  landed  at  Veraguas  on  the  mainland, 
and  reaped  a  most  bountiful  harvest  of  gold. 
Never  before  in  the  history  of  Spanish  wars 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      33 

had  such  booty  fallen  to  the  lot  of  the  common 
soldier  as  in  that  instance.  Other  expeditions 
in  various  parts  of  the  continent  were  equally 
fortunate,  so  that  they  supported  the  belief  that 
gold  was  inexhaustible.  The  ostensible  object 
of  the  conquest  was  the  conversion  of  the 
infidels  to  the  true  faith  ;  officially  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  Metropolis  proclaimed  first  and 
foremost  its  intense  desire  to  save  the  souls 
of  so  many  million  men  who  groped  in  the 
darkness  of  heathenism.  Doubtless  many  of 
the  conquerors  really  thought  that  they  were 
doing  the  work  of  God,  but  the  great  majority 
of  them  were  certainly  moved  by  more  worldly 
ends  and  attractions. 

The  Indians,  on  their  side,  not  only  in 
Colombia  but  everywhere  else,  received  the 
Spaniards  in  a  friendly  and  hospitable  way. 
Some  warlike  tribes  there  were,  but  it  does 
not  appear  that  their  hostilities  against  the 
Spaniards  began  before  these  had  shown  their 
cruel  greed  and  insatiable  thirst  for  gold.  The 
precious  metals  and  jewels  that  had  been  accu- 
mulated amongst  the  tribes  in  the  course  of 
many  generations  were  given  freely  to  the 
Spaniards,  who,  believing  that  greater  treasures 

3 


34      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

were  kept  back  from  them,  did  not  hesitate 
to  recur  to  the  cruellest  methods  of  extortion, 
burning,  pillaging,  killing,  and  destroying  every- 
thing in  their  way. 

After  a  struggle  which  did  not  last  long,  the 
Indians — even  those  of  riper  civilization  and 
better  organized  —  were  completely  subdued, 
and  the  sway  of  the  Spaniard  established  all 
over  the  land,  whose  former  lords  became  the 
slaves  of  the  conquerors. 

Those  who  know  the  Indian  of  to-day  in 
certain  parts  of  the  South  American  continent 
can  hardly  understand  how  at  one  time  that 
same  race  possessed  the  qualities  indispensable 
to  the  civilization  which  it  had  attained  at  the 
time  of  the  Spanish  conquest.  Boiling  the 
whole  thing  down  to  hard  facts,  we  find  that 
the  Spaniards  discovered  a  land  wherein  they 
found  a  people  with  civilization  inferior  to  that 
of  the  old  world  ;  that  this  people,  divided  and 
subdivided  in  many  tribes,  received  the  con- 
querors hospitably,  treated  them  generously, 
and  in  their  ignorance  considered  them  as 
superior  beings ;  that  they  gave  over  to  the 
Spaniards  all  the  gold  and  treasures  which  the 
latter  coveted,   and   that    it   would    have   been 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      35 

feasible  for  those  superior  beings  to  establish 
the  civilization  and  the  religion  which  they 
longed  to  propagate  amongst  the  infidels,  by 
methods  worthy  of  the  Christian  faith  which 
they  professed.  Instead  of  this,  violence  and 
bloodshed  were  the  only  methods  employed, 
not  to  civilize,  but  to  despoil  the  natives ;  and 
the  right  of  force,  brutal  and  sanguinary,  was 
the  law  of  the  land.  To  this  and  its  accom- 
paniments the  poets  lifted  up  pseans  of  praise, 
the  Church  gave  its  blessing,  history  its  accept- 
ance, and,  barring  a  handful  of  the  just,  no  one 
gave  a  thought  to  the  oppressed  and  helpless 
Indians  whose  sole  crime  was  they  were  weaker 
than  their  aggressors. 

Let  us  be  thankful  for  what  we  have. 
Ouintana,  the  great  Spanish  lyrical  poet,  pon- 
dering on  these  misdeeds  and  crimes,  exclaims 
that  they  were  crimes  of  the  epoch,  not  of 
Spain.  Fortunately  it  is,  as  we  like  to  think, 
our  privilege  to  live  in  an  epoch  when  such 
things  are  impossible,  when  the  mere  thirst 
for  gold,  or  its  equivalent,  cannot  impel  powerful 
nations  to  forget  right  and  justice  and  to  pro- 
claim hypocritically  that  in  so  doing  they  are 
fulfilling  the  law  of  Him  who  said,  '  Love  ye 

3—2 


36      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

one  another,'  and  proclaimed  charity  amongst 
men  as  the  supreme  rule  of  life.  Nowadays 
such  wrongs  as  those  perpetrated  by  the  Spanish 
conquerors  could  not  happen.  Wars  we  have, 
and  violence  and  destruction,  and  malcontents 
complain  of  them,  saying  that  the  same  old 
burglarious  spirit  of  brutal  greed  is  the  real 
cause  of  those  wars ;  but  those  malcontents 
should  not  be  (and,  in  fact,  are  not)  listened 
to.  I  myself  do  not  understand  or  pretend  to 
explain  where  the  justice  of  many  wars  comes 
in,  but  certainly  they  must  be  waged  for  good 
and  honest  ends,  because  the  great  and  the 
powerful  say  that  the  ends  are  good  and 
honest,  that  civilization  and  Christianity  are 
served  thereby ;  and  it  must  be  so  since  they 
say  it,  for  they,  like  Brutus,  are  '  honourable 
men.'  Let  us  be  thankful,  then,  that  we  live 
in  an  age  of  justice  and  universal  fairness 
amongst  men ! 


CHAPTER  IV 

But  let  us  go  back  to  our  subject. 

All  this  time  we  journeyed  on.  The  stars 
had  kept  their  watch  above  our  heads,  and 
the  moon,  as  if  passing  in  review  the  various 
quarters  of  heaven,  had  been  moving  from  west 
to  east,  and  was  very  high  on  the  horizon. 
We  were  chilled  through  after  the  night's  ride, 
longing  to  arrive  at  some  wayside  inn  or  ve^tta 
where  we  might  get  something  warm.  The 
dawn  was  heralded  in  the  far  east  by  a  broad 
streak  of  light,  which  grew  rapidly,  covering 
that  side  of  the  horizon  like  a  fan,  and  soon 
bursting  into  glorious  daylight.  In  equa- 
torial regions  there  is  hardly  any  dawn  or 
twilight ;  in  those  latitudes  there  is  no  prelude 
of  semi-obscurity  that  either  waxes  into  day 
or  wanes  slowly  into  the  dark,  like  the  note 
of  the  lute,  falling  into  silence  so  faintly  and 


38      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

softly  that  none  can  tell  the  exact  moment 
when  it  dies.  At  evening  the  sun  sinks  to 
the  verge  of  the  horizon,  and  disappears  like 
a  luminous  orb  dropped  into  empty  space,  and 
darkness  sets  in  almost  immediately.  In  the 
mountainous  lands  his  last  rays  crown  the 
highest  peaks  with  a  halo  of  glory,  when 
darkness  has  settled  over  the  valleys  and 
mountain  flanks.  The  moment  the  sun  sets 
the  stars  assert  their  empire,  and  they  are 
more  numerous  to  the  eye  than  anywhere 
else  in  the  world.  As  for  the  moon,  I  have 
already  spoken  of  its  brilliancy.  Another 
phenomenon  connected  with  it  is  worthy  of 
notice  in  our  special  case.  During  the  various 
months  of  the  trip  which  I  am  now  describing, 
it  seems  to  me  that  we  had  a  full  moon  every 
night.  I  know  that  this  is  not  quite  in  accord- 
ance with  the  established  rules,  or  what  in 
modern  parlance  is  sometimes  called  the 
schedule  of  time  for  lunar  service,  but  I  am 
narrating  my  impressions,  and,  according  to 
them,  such  is  the  fact.  I  should  suggest  that, 
as  everything  in  Spanish  lands  is  more  or  less 
topsy-turvy  at  times,  the  rules  applicable  to  the 
moon   in  well-regulated  countries  do  not  hold 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      39 

good  there,  but  I  remember  just  in  time  that 
these  irregularities  apply  solely  to  things  human 
that  happen  '  tiles  downwards,'  as  the  Spaniards 
say,  and  cannot,  therefore,  affect  the  phenomena 
of  Nature.  As  an  explanation  must  be  found 
for  my  permanent  moon,  an  acceptable  com- 
promise would  be  that  the  ordinary  moon  did 
duty  on  its  appointed  nights,  leaving  the  others 
— during  which  we  wandered  over  mountain, 
through  valley  and  forest,  and  on  the  waters  of 
the  silent  rivers — to  be  illuminated  for  our  own 
special  benefit  by  some  deputy  moon,  for 
whose  services  we  were  then,  and  still  are, 
most  grateful. 

As  to  the  topsy-turviness  of  things  Spanish 
and  Spanish-American,  the  story  is  told  that 
Santiago,  the  patron  saint  of  Spain,  being 
admitted  into  the  presence  of  God,  asked  and 
obtained  for  the  land  of  Spain  and  for  its  people 
all  sorts  of  blessings  :  marvellous  fertility  for  the 
soil,  natural  wealth  of  all  kinds  in  the  mountains 
and  the  forests,  abundance  of  fish  in  the  rivers 
and  of  birds  in  the  air  ;  courage,  sobriety,  and 
all  the  manly  virtues  for  men ;  beauty,  grace, 
loveliness,  for  the  women.  All  this  was  granted, 
but,  on  the  point  of  leaving,  the  saint,  it  is  said. 


40      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

asked  from  God  that  he  would  also  grant  Spain 
a  good  government.  The  request  was  denied, 
as  then,  it  is  said,  the  Lord  remarked,  the 
angels  would  abandon  heaven  and  flock  to 
Spain.  The  story  has  lost  none  of  its  point 
even  at  the  present  day. 

With  the  morning  we  reached  the  longed-for 
venta,  a  square,  thatch-roofed  hut,  which  stood 
by  the  roadside  quite  close  to  the  mountain- 
range  which  we  had  reached  after  crossing  the 
whole  breadth  of  the  plateau.  Outside  stood 
several  pack-horses  and  mules,  tied  to  the 
columns  and  waiting  for  their  loads.  Under 
the  roof  the  space  was  divided  into  three 
rooms,  one  of  them  provided  with  a  counter 
and  shelves  running  along  the  sides  of  the 
walls,  whereon  bottles  of  various  sizes  and 
contents  were  exhibited,  and  where  ckicka,  the 
national  drink,  was  served  to  thirsty  travellers. 
The  middle  room  was  what  might  be  called 
the  sitting,  waiting,  sleeping,  and  dining  room 
all  in  one,  and  the  other  was  the  kitchen.  The 
fire  was  built  on  the  ground,  several  logs 
burning  brightly  in  the  open  air,  filling  the 
room  with  smoke  and  heat,  On  three  stones 
— the  traditional  stones  of  the  first  hearth — a 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      41 

saucepan  was  seen  in  full  boil.  In  the  parlour 
we  saw  several  peones,  or  labourers,  from  the 
highlands  on  their  way  to  the  coffee  estates  to 
help  in  the  harvest.  Behind  the  counter,  the 
ventera,  barmaid  and  landlady  all  in  one, 
buxom  and  wreathed  in  smiles,  was  already 
filling  either  the  totuma,  a  large  bowl  cut 
from  a  gourd,  containing  about  a  quart  of 
chicha,  or  the  small  glass  of  native  whisky 
(aguardiente). 

We  jumped  from  our  horses  and  entered  the 
so-called  sitting-room,  envying  the  men  who 
slept  deep  and  strong  as  virtue  on  the  bare 
ground.  In  a  few  minutes  Fermin  had  brought 
from  our  saddle-bags  the  copper  kettle  used 
for  making  chocolate,  and  the  paste  for  the 
preparation  of  that  delicious  drink.  Within 
twenty  minutes  of  our  arrival  we  had  before 
us  the  steaming  cups  of  chocolate  which  had 
been  boiled  three  times,  in  accordance  with  the 
orthodox  principle  which  lays  it  down  that  this 
must  be  done  if  it  is  to  be  rightly  done ;  it 
was  well  beaten  and  covered  with  that  foam 
peculiar  to  chocolate  brewed  in  hot  water,  which 
looks  at  you  with  its  thousand  eyes  or  bubbles 
that  burst   as  the  liquor   is   imbibed.     Never 


42       DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

was  a  cup  of  chocolate  more  welcome.  The 
night  seemed  to  have  been  interminable  now 
that  it  lay  behind.  We  would  fain  have 
stretched  ourselves  on  the  ground  with  the 
labourers,  but  to  reach  our  destination  that  day 
it  was  necessary  to  lose  no  time ;  so  after  an 
hour's  rest,  during  which  our  horses  had  had 
their  pienso  of  fodder,  we  started  again,  now 
over  more  broken  country,  leaving  the  plain 
behind  us,  climbing  and  descending  the  road 
which  was  still  available  for  carts  and  wheeled 
vehicles  of  all  sorts. 

And  thus  we  advanced,  seeing  the  sunrise 
darting  its  slanting  rays,  which  were  quite 
pleasant  to  feel  in  the  early  morning,  until  they 
became  perpendicular,  hot,  and  almost  unbear- 
able in  the  dusty  road. 

The  horses,  after  the  long  journey,  slackened 
their  pace,  and  we  looked  upon  surrounding 
Nature  with  weary  eyes  and  that  emptiness  of 
feeling  in  the  brain,  that  consciousness  of  a 
void  somewhere,  which  always  follow  nights 
passed  absolutely  without  sleep. 

Towards  four  in  the  afternoon,  after  seven- 
teen hours'  steady  ride,  interrupted  only  by  the 
short  stay  at  the  roadside  venta^  we  reached 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      43 

the  hacienda  of  Gambita,  where  one  of  our 
companions,  Raoul,  who  had  started  ahead  to 
prepare  everything  for  the  longer  journey, 
was  waiting  for  us.  He  came  up  quite  briskly 
along  the  road,  joyful  at  our  arrival,  full  of 
spirits,  and  most  anxious  that  the  journey 
should  be  continued.  He  might  well  feel  thus, 
as  he  had  not  passed  a  sleepless  night  on 
horseback  like  a  knight-errant  over  field  and 
moor.  The  desire  for  sleep  and  rest  was 
overpowering — all  else  lacked  interest  for  us ; 
so  that,  alighting  from  our  horses,  we  walked 
into  the  house,  and,  finding  convenient  sofas, 
stretched  ourselves  and  slept.  Like  Dante 
after  listening  to  the  sorrowful  tale  of  Fran- 
cesca,  we  fell  as  a  dead  body  falls,  which  goes 
to  prove  that  identical  effects  may  arise  from 
totally  different  causes.  Towards  ten  at  night 
Raoul  waked  us.  The  supper  waiting  for  us 
was  quickly  despatched,  and  our  mules  were 
saddled  and  ready. 

As  I  have  said  before,  mules  are  far  prefer- 
able to  horses  when  travelling  on  the  mountain- 
paths,  which  are  called  roads  in  the  Andes. 
The  old  Shakespearian  query,  *  What's  in  a 
name?'    and   the    answer    that   a   rose    would 


44      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

smell  as  sweet  even  if  called  by  another  name, 
demonstrates  the  elasticity  of  words.  To  the 
average  Englishman  a  road  is  a  well-defined 
means  of  communication  with  or  without  rails, 
but  offering  all  sorts  of  advantages  for  com- 
fortable locomotion.  Roads  in  the  Andes  at 
times  are  such  as  to  invite  the  formation  of 
legends.  It  is  said  that  an  American  diplo- 
matist, visiting  a  South  American  republic, 
alighted  from  the  river  steamer  which  had 
borne  him  far  inland  by  the  respective  river, 
and  was  shown  the  mountain-road  which  he  had 
to  follow  to  reach  the  capital — a  yellowish  or 
reddish  streak  like  a  gash  in  the  mountain, 
lying  on  its  side  like  a  rope  carelessly  thrown 
from  the  summit  towards  the  base,  following 
the  sinuosities  of  the  ground — and  straightway 
remarked,  'I'm  off  home  ;  this  road  is  only  fit 
for  birds.' 

On  such  roads  the  mule  is  the  best  friend  of 
man.  Had  Richard  III.  found  himself  in  the 
plight  we  all  know  of  in  some  such  locality, 
the  generous  offer  of  bartering  his  kingdom 
(which,  by -the -by,  at  that  moment  was  a 
minus  quantity  to  him)  would  have  made  for 
a  mule  instead  of  for  a  horse,  and  although  the 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      45 

phrase — '  A  mule  !  a  mule  !  my  kingdom  for 
a  mule !' — sounds  comical  (for  these  are  ques- 
tions of  habit),  probably  the  stock  phrase  would 
bring  down  the  house  with  laughter.  If  the 
camel  is  called  the  ship  of  the  desert,  the 
mule  deserves  the  title  of  the  balloon  of  the 
mountains. 

A  friend  of  mine,  knowing  of  my  intended 
trip,  had  sent  me  his  favourite  mule,  and  well 
did  the  animal  deserve  the  praises  that  its 
owner  bestowed  upon  it ;  patient,  sure-footed, 
collected,  it  carried  me  by  precipice,  ravine, 
ascended  paths  only  fit  for  ants  as  lightly  and 
carefully  as  if  no  weight  were  on  its  back.  At 
the  mud  ditches  which  intersected  the  roads, 
and  at  times  reached  the  proportions  of  minia- 
ture lakes,  often  treacherously  deep,  it  would 
halt,  looking  at  the  waters  with  its  big,  ball- 
shaped,  moist  eyes,  and  no  hint  of  mine, 
whether  given  with  spur  or  whip,  could  disturb 
its  equanimity.  At  the  right  moment,  heedless 
of  my  meddling,  it  would  jump  or  ford  or  slide 
as  circumstances  required.  At  the  beginning 
of  our  companionship,  during  those  long  days, 
I  began  by  endeavouring  to  have  a  mind  of 
my  own  as  to  the  part  of  the  road  to  be  selected. 


46      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

I  soon  saw  that  my  efforts  were  useless,  for 
that  wisdom  of  the  mule  which  men  call 
stubbornness  was  invincible.  And,  frankly, 
it  was  lucky  that  I  soon  gained  this  conviction, 
as  certainly  the  mule  knew  far  better  than  I 
what  should  be  done. 

How  strange  all  this  sounds  in  this  land  of 
railroads,  automobiles,  omnibuses,  and  wheeled 
conveyances  of  every  sort !  yet  there  is  more 
genuine  travelling,  more  real  travelling,  in 
going  from  one  place  to  another  on  the  back 
of  a  mule  than  in  being  cooped  for  hours  or 
days  in  a  railway  compartment  whirled  along 
at  lightning  speed.  What  does  one  learn  about 
the  country,  what  does  one  see  of  its  beauty 
or  of  its  peculiarities,  in  this  latter  case?  It 
may  be  transportation,  it  may  be  locomotion, 
but  it  is  not  travelling. 

If  I  were  a  man  of  ample  means,  I  would 
certainly  endow  that  splendid  beast  which 
carried  me  during  so  many  days,  or  provide  a 
pension  for  it,  so  that  it  might  spend  the 
remainder  of  its  life  in  the  enjoyment  of 
meadows  ever  green,  luscious  with  rich  grass 
and  sweet  with  the  waters  of  rippling  streams. 

From  Gambita  on,  our  cavalcade  had  some- 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      47 

thing  of  the  aspect  of  a  caravan.  There  were 
Alex,  Raoul,  and  myself,  besides  our  servant 
Fermin,  four  muleteers,  and  ten  or  twelve  mules 
laden  with  our  luggage,  tents,  provisions,  arms, 
and  so  forth.  This  mob  of  travellers  was  so 
unusual  that  the  simple  folks  in  the  villages 
through  which  we  passed  said  that  his  lordship 
the  Archbishop  was  no  doubt  on  a  tour.  On 
hearing  this,  and  finding  'that  the  people  began 
to  kneel  by  the  roadside,  rather  than  shatter 
their  illusion,  I — knowing  that  I  was  the  most 
episcopal -looking  of  our  crowd — decided  to 
give  my  blessing,  which  I  did  with  due  unction 
to  the  kneeling  maidens  and  matrons  along  the 
roadside. 

From  Gambita  we  shaped  our  course  east- 
ward. It  was  our  intention  to  reach  the 
Atlantic  through  the  Orinoco  River.  We  were 
seeking  one  of  the  many  affluents  of  the  river 
Meta,  which  is  itself  one  of  the  largest  tributaries 
of  the  Orinoco.  The  affluents  of  the  Meta 
start  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  mountains 
which  form  the  plateau  of  Bogota. 

After  three  days'  ride  from  Gambita,  we 
reached  the  estate  of  a  friend  near  the  town 
of  Miraflores,  where  we  had  to  prepare  our- 


48      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

selves  for  the  last  stage  of  the  land  journey 
which  would  carry  us  through  the  dense  forests 
bordering  the  lower  eastern  slope  of  the 
Cordilleras,  and  constituting  a  sort  of  fringe 
around  the  endless  plains  that  extend  for 
thousands  of  miles  from  the  foot  of  the  Cordil- 
leras to  the  ocean.  Across  these  plains  flow 
the  mighty  rivers,  their  numerous  affluents,  and 
the  countless  cams,  or  natural  canals  connecting 
the  rivers  amongst  themselves,  and  thus  form- 
ing a  perfect  network  of  natural  waterways. 

At  Miraflores  we  stopped  for  twenty-four 
hours  to  recruit  our  forces  and  prepare  every- 
thing, not  only  for  the  last  stage  of  the  land 
journey,  but  for  the  long  canoe  voyage  that  lay 
before  us. 


CHAPTER  V 

From  Miraflores  on,  the  descent  was  continuous. 
Before  penetrating  into  the  forest,  we  skirted 
the  mountain  for  a  good  many  miles.  The 
road,  barely  4  or  5  feet  in  width,  had  been  cut 
out  of  the  rock,  like  the  cornice  of  a  temple. 
On  the  one  side  we  had  the  bluff  of  the 
mountain,  and  on  the  other  a  precipice  of 
hundreds,  and  even  thousands,  of  feet  in  depth. 
The  inclination  at  times  was  so  steep  that  at 
a  distance  the  line  of  the  road  on  the  mountain 
seemed  almost  vertical,  and  the  file  of  mules 
with  riders  or  with  loads  on  their  backs 
appeared  like  so  many  flies  on  a  wall. 

Up  to  the  time  that  we  reached  Miraflores, 
we  had  followed  what  in  Colombia  are  called, 
according  to  the  loyal  tradition  still  living  on 
the  lips,  if  not  in  the  hearts,  of  the  people, 
'  royal  roads,'  or  caminos  reales.     These  royal 

4 


50      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

roads  are  paths  along  the  mountain  slopes,  said 
to  follow  the  old  Indian  trails,  and  the  Indians 
had  a  peculiar  way  of  selecting  their  paths  or 
trails.  They  seem  to  have  been  impervious  to 
fatigue,  and  Franklin's  adage,  now  accepted 
the  world  over,  that  time  is  money,  did  not 
obtain  with  them,  for  they  had  no  money  and 
abundant  time.  When  an  Indian  wanted  to 
cross  a  range  of  mountains,  instead  of  selecting 
the  lowest  summit,  he  fixed  his  eye  on  the 
highest  peak,  and  over  it  would  wend  his  way. 
The  explanation  given  is  that  thus  he  accom- 
plished two  ends  —  crossing  the  range  and 
placing  himself  in  a  position  to  see  the  widest 
possible  horizon.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the 
Spaniards  who  settled  in  the  colonies  accepted 
the  precedent,  and  the  result  is  a  most 
wearisome  and  unpleasant  one  in  the  present 
day. 

But  if  as  far  as  Miraflores  we  had  the  so- 
called  '  royal  roads,'  from  thence  on  in  an 
easterly  direction  towards  the  plain  we  lacked 
even  these  apologies  for  roads.  From  Mira- 
flores towards  the  llanos,  along  the  slope  of  the 
Cordilleras,  extends  an  intricate  forest  in  its 
primeval   state.      We   had   to   fight   our   way 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      51 

through  the  under-brush  amongst  the  trunks 
of  the  huge  trees,  and  at  times  really  battling 
for  each  foot  that  we  advanced.  However,  our 
guides,  who  were  expert  cattle-drivers — large 
quantities  of  cattle  being  driven  through  these 
forests  from  the  plains  to  the  uplands — knew 
the  forest  so  well  that  the  obstacles  were 
reduced  to  their  minimum. 

We  rode  in  Indian  file,  the  chief  of  the 
guides  ahead  of  the  line  cutting  with  his  cut- 
lass, or  machete,  the  branches  and  overhanofine 
boughs,  thorns,  reeds,  creepers,  and  the  like, 
that  might  strike  us  in  the  face  as  we  rode 
under  them.  Next  to  him  followed  V^o  peones, 
who  cleared  the  ground,  if  necessary,  from 
fallen  branches  or  stones  against  which  our 
mules  might  stumble.  At  first  this  slow  mode 
of  travel  was  most  interesting.  The  light 
scarcely  filtered  through  the  dense  mass  of 
leaves,  so  that  we  felt  as  if  we  stood  constantly 
behind  some  cathedral  stained-glass  window. 
The  air  was  full  of  the  peculiar  fragrance  of 
tropical  flowers  and  plants  ;  the  orchids  swung 
high  above  our  heads  like  lamps  from  the  vaults 
of  a  temple,  and  the  huge  trunks  of  the  trees, 
covered   with    creepers    studded    with    multi- 

4—2 


52      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

coloured  flowers,  appeared  like  the  festooned 
columns  of  a  temple  on  a  feast-day. 

However,  there  were  certain  drawbacks  :  the 
ground  was  so  wet  and  spongy  that  the  feet  of 
the  animals  sank  into  it,  and  progress  was 
accordingly  very  slow.  Now  and  then  we 
would  come  to  a  halt,  owing  to  a  huge  boulder 
of  rock  or  large  trunk  of  a  tree  barring  the 
passage  absolutely.  It  was  then  necessary  for 
the  guides  to  seek  the  best  way  of  overcoming 
the  obstacle.  Frequently  we  had  to  alight 
from  our  mules,  as  it  was  dangerous  to  ride 
them  in  many  places.  The  guides  and  the 
muleteers  walked  on  the  uneven  ground — now 
stony,  and  now  slippery — with  the  agility  of 
deer,  sure-footed  and  unconscious  of  the  diffi- 
culty. I  had  to  invent  a  means  of  advancing : 
I  placed  myself  between  two  of  the  guides, 
hooking  one  arm  to  a  guide's  on  each  side,  and 
thus,  though  frequently  stumbling,  I  never  fell, 
but  it  may  be  readily  understood  that  this  mode 
of  progression  was  neither  comfortable  nor 
rapid. 

Another  inconvenience  was  found  in  the 
thorny  bushes,  prickly  plants,  and  trees  which 
it  was  dangerous  to  approach,  such  as  ihe/>a/o 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      53 

santo,  so  called  because  it  is  frequented  by  a 
kind  of  ant  of  that  name,  whose  bite  is  most 
painful  and  induces  a  slight  fever. 

On  the  second  day  the  guide  who  was  ahead 
fired  his  gun,  and,  on  our  asking  him  for  the 
cause,  said  : 

*  Only  a  rattle-snake !' 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  had  killed  a  large 
specimen,  said  to  be  seven  years  old,  as  shown 
by  the  seven  rattles  that  were  taken  from  its 
tail.  These  things  did  not  help  to  make  the 
ride  through  the  intricate  forest  more  pleasant. 
We  longed  to  see  the  open  sky,  which  we  could 
only  discern  through  the  veil  or  network  of 
leaves  and  branches,  and,  by  a  phenomenon  of 
sympathy  between  the  lungs  and  the  eyes,  it 
seemed  to  us  that  we  lacked  air  to  breathe. 
Now  and  then  we  would  come  to  a  clearing, 
but  we  soon  plunged  again  into  the  thick  of  it, 
and  felt  like  wanderers  gone  astray  in  an  inter- 
minable labyrinth  or  maze  of  tall  trees,  moist 
foliage,  and  tepid  atmosphere. 

The  guides  told  us  from  the  start  that  it 
would  take  from  four  to  five  days  to  reach  the 
end  of  the  forest.  On  the  fifth  day,  towards 
noon,  almost  suddenly  we  came  upon  the  open 


54      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

plain.  Our  hearts  leaped  for  very  joy,  and  we 
hailed  the  vast  green  motionless  solitude,  that 
extended  far  into  the  horizon  before  our  eyes 
like  a  frozen  sea,  with  a  shout  of  joy.  The 
trees  of  the  forest  stood  as  in  battle-line  in  front 
of  the  endless  plain  ;  the  sun  darted  its  rays, 
which  shimmered  in  the  countless  ribbons, 
some  broader  than  others,  of  the  silver  streams 
sluggishly  dragging  their  waves  along  the 
bosom  of  the  unending  prairie.  Copses  of 
moriches,  an  exceptionally  graceful  species  of 
palm,  dotted  the  plains  in  all  directions.  They 
seemed  as  though  planted  by  the  hand  of  man 
to  hide  behind  them  a  castle,  or  some  old  feudal 
structure,  which  our  imagination  reared  com- 
plete, full-fledged,  with  its  walls,  its  roof,  its 
turrets,  and  its  legends.  The  site  looked  as  if 
prepared  for  a  large  city  about  to  be  built,  and 
waiting  only  for  the  arrival  of  its  architects  and 
inhabitants,  even  as  the  white  page  tarries  for 
him  that  is  to  inscribe  upon  it  a  living  and 
immortal  thought. 

To  continue  our  journey  on  the  llanos,  the 
assistance  of  the  guides  was  even  more  neces- 
sary than  in  the  thick  of  the  forest.  To 
attempt  travelling  on  the  llanos  without  expert 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      55 

guides  would  be  like  seeking  to  cross  the  sea 
without  a  compass. 

Once  in  the  llanos,  we  came  within  a  few 
hours  to  the  hamlet  of  San  Pedro,  a  cattle- 
trading  station  consisting  of  a  few  thatch- 
roofed  houses,  almost  deserted  except  during 
the  various  weeks  of  the  year  specially  fixed 
for  traders  and  breeders  to  meet.  Here  we 
were  at  last  at  the  end  of  the  first  stage  of  our 
journey.  It  was  New  Year's  Day.  Behind 
us  lay  the  maze  of  forest,  the  meandering  trails 
and  paths,  the  sheer  mountains,  the  cold  fertile 
plateau,  the  native  city,  and  the  dead  year. 
Before  us  we  had  the  unlimited  plain,  the 
wandering  rivers,  and  there,  beyond  all,  like  a 
promise,  tossing,  heaving,  roaring,  the  sea, 
vast,  immeasurable,  the  open  roadway  to  the 
shores  of  other  lands,  some  of  them  free,  some 
of  them  perhaps  hospitable,  all  girdled  by  the 
ever-beating  waves  which  now  die  moaning  on 
the  sands,  now  dash  their  fury  into  foam  on  the 
rocks  of  the  shore. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Before  parting  from  our  friends  the  mules,  it 
may  not  be  amiss  to  speak  of  the  equipment 
for  man  and  beast  which  obtains  in  Colombian 
Andine  regions.  The  saddle  used — sometimes 
native,  sometimes  European  —  offers  nothing 
striking  in  its  composition,  only  that  it  is 
provided  with  a  crupper  which  must  be  very 
strong — strong  as  a  braced  strap — since  in  the 
steep  ascents  or  descents  the  girth  alone  would 
be  insufficient.  The  men  wear  leggings  or 
zamorros,  which,  in  fact,  are  rather  seatless 
trousers  than  leggings,  2  feet  wide,  held  to- 
gether by  a  strap  across  the  loins,  the  outside 
consisting  of  tanned  hide  with  the  hair  on  it, 
and  the  inside  of  soft  leather.  They  have  the 
advantage  of  being  very  easily  put  on  and 
slipped  off  when  the  rider  alights.  The 
stirrups  are   a   large  shoe  wherein   the  whole 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      57 

foot  is  encased,  made  of  copper  or  brass.  At 
first  those  unfamiliar  with  the  roads  find  them 
awkward,  bulky,  and  heavy,  but  one  soon 
learns  that  they  are  an  indispensable  protec- 
tion, a  sort  of  armour  or  shield  against  the 
stones,  trees,  and  sundry  other  obstacles  which 
the  rider's  foot  is  bound  to  strike.  Th^  poncho, 
which  is  a  rectangular  piece  of  woven  cotton 
cloth  about  5  to  6  feet  long  by  3  to  3J  feet 
broad,  with  a  slit  in  the  centre,  is  worn  by 
all  riders,  and  a  similar  piece  of  india-rubber 
cloth,  only  somewhat  larger,  is  carried  strapped 
to  the  back  of  the  saddle  to  be  used  when  rain 
comes  on.  The  real  native  accoutrem.ent,  in 
which  the  saddle  differs,  having  a  pommel  and 
being  high-seated  in  the  back,  is  not  complete 
without  the  lasso,  made  of  twisted  raw  hide,  kept 
soft  and  pliable  by  the  frequent  use  of  tallow, 
which  is  rubbed  into  it.  The  expert  herdsman 
can  throw  the  lasso  a  long  distance,  either  across 
the  neck  of  the  horses  or  right  over  the  horns 
of  the  cattle ;  their  aim  is  unerring.  They 
fasten  the  lasso  to  the  pommel  of  the  saddle, 
and  turn  their  horses  backwards  so  that  they 
may  better  withstand  the  pull  of  the  lassoed 
animal.      Spurs    in    Colombia    are    frequently 


58      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

worn,  especially  when  you  ride  somebody  else's 
hired  mule  or  horse.  The  spurs  are  more 
formidable  in  appearance  than  harmful  in 
reality  ;  the  rollocks,  instead  of  being  small 
with  little  pinlike  pricks  as  in  Europe,  are 
huge  in  size,  about  3  inches  in  diameter,  and 
each  prick  about  ij  inches;  they  make  a  great 
rattle  on  the  slightest  provocation,  but  are  less 
painful  to  the  animal  than  the  little  European 
spurs.  Apropos  of  this,  I  remember  the  case 
of  an  individual  who,  finding  the  Colombian 
.spurs  too  heavy,  only  wore  one,  arguing  that  if 
he  managed  to  make  one  side  of  his  mule  get 
along,  the  other  side  would  be  sure  to  follow, 
and  hence  only  one  spur  was  needed. 

On  arriving  at  the  wayside  venta,  or  inn — 
and  Heaven  only  knows  how  elastic  a  man's 
conscience  must  be  to  bestow  the  name  of  inn 
upon  many  of  these  ventas — the  first  care  of 
an  experienced  traveller  is  to  see  to  the  welfare 
of  his  mules  and  horses.  If  available,  Indian 
corn,  brown  sugar  of  the  species  caXX^d  panela, 
which  is  uncrystallized  solidified  molasses,  and 
the  best  grass  that  can  be  got  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, are  given  to  the  animals.  If  there 
happens   to    be   an    enclosure,  the   mules   and 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      59 

horses  are  let  loose  in  it,  so  that  they  may  rest 
more  comfortably ;  but  these  enclosures  are 
very  frequently  a  delusion  and  a  snare,  as  in- 
experienced travellers  find  when,  on  rising 
early  in  the  morning  the  next  day,  they  are 
told  that  the  animals  have  jumped  over  the 
fence  or  broken  through,  or  in  some  other  way 
disappeared,  whereupon  the  muleteers,  with  the 
boys  and  men  available  in  the  locality  pressed 
into  the  service  for  the  occasion,  scour  the 
mountains  and  the  neighbouring  forests  in 
search  of  the  missing  animals,  the  search 
lasting  at  times  four  and  five  hours,  during 
which  the  traveller  frets,  foams,  and  possibly, 
if  he  be  quite  natural  and  unspoiled  by  con- 
vention, swears. 

But  notwithstanding  these  drawbacks,  there 
is  a  special  charm  about  this  mode  of  travelling. 
In  the  morning  about  four  the  traveller  arises 
from  his  not  too  soft  couch.  The  first  break- 
fast is  at  once  prepared,  and  whilst  it  is  being 
cooked  the  mafianas,  or  morning  greeting,  is 
indulged  in,  consisting  of  a  little  whisky, 
brandy,  aguardiente^  rum,  or  whatever  spirits 
happen  to  be  available.  The  hour,  even  in 
the  hot  lands,  is  cool.     The  stars   still  shine 


6o      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

brightly  in  the  heavens,  and,  were  it  not  for  the 
testimony  of  one's  watch,  one  would  believe 
one's  self  still  in  the  middle  of  the  night.  The 
mules  are  brought  forward,  given  their  morning 
rations,  the  luggage  is  strapped  on  the  '  cargo ' 
mules,  as  they  are  called,  and  the  others  are 
saddled,  and  if  all  goes  well,  towards  five  or 
half-past,  the  journey  begins. 

There  is  a  characteristic  odour  in  the  tem- 
perate and  low  lands  of  the  tropics  at  that 
special  hour  of  morning,  and  the  dawn  is 
announced  by  a  hum  in  the  ear,  which,  whilst 
it  is  still  dark,  is  not  of  birds,  but  of  the 
thousand  insects  that  inhabit  the  forest.  Finally, 
when  the  sun  bursts  forth  in  all  his  glory,  a  hymn 
seems  to  start  in  all  directions,  and  the  moun- 
tains vibrate  with  echoes  of  universal  animation 
from  the  grass  and  the  bushes,  the  running 
streams,  and  the  nests  in  the  branches  of  the 
trees  laden  with  life.  In  the  cool  air  of  the 
morning  the  mind  is  quite  alert,  and  the  climb- 
ing and  descending,  the  fording  of  rivers,  the 
crossing  of  ravines  and  precipices,  the  slow 
ascent  of  the  sun  in  the  horizon,  the  fresh 
stirring  of  the  breeze  in  the  leaves,  the  reverbe- 
ration of  the  light  on  the  drops  of  fresh  dew 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      6i 

still  hanging  from  the  boughs  and  dotting  the 
many-coloured  flowers — all  these  things  induce 
such  a  feeling  of  communion  with  Nature  that 
one  feels  one's  self  an  integral  part  of  the  large, 
immense,  palpitating  life  that  throbs  in  every 
direction,  and  the  conception  of  immortality 
seems  to  crystallize,  so  to  speak,  in  the  mind 
of  the  traveller  ;  but,  of  course,  familiarity  breeds 
contempt,  and  things  beautiful,  though  they  are 
a  joy  for  ever,  might  tire  Keats  himself  through 
repetition,  so  that  at  times  travelling  in  this 
wise  often  seems  slow,  and  one  longs  for  some 
other  means  of  locomotion.  Yet  I  cannot  help 
thinking  with  regret  of  the  days  when  one  will 
ask  for  a  ticket — railway,  '  tube,'  balloon,  or 
whatever  it  may  be — from  any  place  on  earth 
to  any  other  place.  When  that  day  arrives, 
men  will  be  transported  more  rapidly  from  one 
place  to  another,  but  the  real  traveller  will  have 
disappeared,  as  the  knight-errant  disappeared, 
as  the  gentleman  is  being  driven  out  from  the 
world  in  these  days  when  all  things  are  bought 
and  sold,  and  kindness  and  generosity  are 
becoming  empty  words  or  obsolete  relics  of 
a  past  that  very  few  understand,  and  fewer 
still  care  to  imitate. 


62      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

On  the  very  outskirts  of  the  forest,  within 
half  an  hour's  ride  from  the  long  file  of  trees, 
we  came  upon  a  group  of  thatch-roofed  struc- 
tures which  form  the  so-called  town  or  hamlet 
of  San  Pedro  del  Tua,  a  meeting-place,  as  I 
have  said  before,  for  herdsmen  and  dealers, 
deserted  at  the  present  season  ;  the  only  persons 
who  had  remained  were  those  whose  poverty — 
heavier  than  any  anchor — had  kept  them  on 
the  spot  away  from  the  Christmas  and  New 
Year's  festivities  that  were  being  celebrated  in 
all  the  towns  and  villages  of  the  neighbouring 
region.  Our  first  care  was  to  find  a  roof  under 
which  to  pass  the  night.  We  inquired  for  the 
man  in  power,  namely,  the  corrcj'idor,  a  sort  of 
justice  of  the  peace,  mayor,  sheriff,  all  in  one, 
an  official  to  be  found  in  hamlets  or  villages 
like  that  which  we  had  just  reached.  It  was 
not  hard  to  find  him,  since  there  were  only 
fifteen  persons  in  the  place.  We  had  a  letter 
of  introduction  to  him,  which  made  things 
easier.  He  immediately  took  us  to  the  best 
house  in  the  place,  which  happened  to  belong 
to  him.  He  asked  us  what  good  winds  had 
wafted  us  thither,  and  whither  we  went.  As 
we  did  not  care,  until  having  felt  our  ground 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      63 

a  little  more,  to  state  frankly  that  we  wanted 
to  cross  into  the  neighbouring  republic  of  Vene- 
zuela, one  of  us — the  most  audacious  if  not  the 
best  liar  of  the  lot — calmly  stated  that  we  had 
come  to  the  llanos  for  the  purpose  of  selecting 
and  purchasing  some  land,  as  we  intended  to 
go  into  the  cattle-breeding  business,  and  pos- 
sibly into  some  agricultural  pursuit  or  other. 
The  correjidor  said  nothing,  but  an  ironical 
smile  seemed  to  flit  across  his  lips.  When  we 
had  become  more  familiar  with  things  and 
customs  in  the  plains,  we  understood  why  he 
had  not  replied,  and  the  cause  of  his  almost 
imperceptible  smile.  To  purchase  land  in  the 
llanos  would  be  tantamount  to  buying  salt  water 
in  the  midst  of  the  ocean  !  People  '  squat ' 
wherever  they  like  in  those  endless  plains  that 
belong  to  him  who  exploits  them.  The  cattle, 
horses,  sheep,  are  the  elements  of  value  to  which 
ownership  is  attached,  but  the  grazing  lands 
belong  to  one  and  all,  and  as  matters  stand 
now,  given  the  scarcity  of  population  and  its 
slow  increase,  such  will  be  the  condition  of 
affairs  for  many  a  long  year  to  come. 

Once  inside  the  house  that  the  correjidor  had 
placed  at  our  disposal,  and  feeling  more  at  ease 


64      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

with  him,  we  told  him  of  our  intention  to  go  to 
Venezuela,  and  asked  for  his  assistance.  His 
name  was  Leal,  which  means  loyal ;  its  sound 
had  in  it  the  clink  of  a  good  omen,  and  later 
events  proved  that  he  deserved  it.  He  told  us 
that  our  undertaking  was  by  no  means  an  easy 
one,  nor  one  that  could  be  accomplished  with- 
out the  assistance  of  expert  and  intelligent 
guides.  He  added  that  he  knew  the  various 
ways  to  penetrate  from  Colombia  into  Vene- 
zuela, and  that  if  we  would  accept  his  services 
he  would  accompany  us.  I  need  not  state  that 
the  offer  was  accepted  with  alacrity. 

In  the  short  journey  from  the  skirt  of  the 
forest  to  the  hamlet  of  San  Pedro  del  Tua 
across  the  llano  itself,  we  had  time  to  remark 
that  its  aspect,  once  in  contact  with  it,  was 
quite  different  from  the  beautiful  velvety  green 
waving  in  the  sunlight,  soft  and  thick,  that  we 
had  seen  from  a  distance.  The  ground  was 
covered  with  a  coarse  grass  varying  in  height 
and  colour,  we  were  told,  according  to  the 
season  of  the  year.  A  great  many  small  path- 
ways seemed  to  cross  it  in  all  directions,  formed 
by  the  cropping  of  the  grass  and  the  animals 
that   moved    to   and    fro   on    the   plains.     We 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      65 

crossed  various  canos,  which  are  natural  canals, 
uniting  the  larger  rivers.  As  we  were  at  the 
beginning  of  the  dry  season,  these  canals  were 
low,  and  we  forded  them  without  any  difficulty, 
but  in  winter — that  is  to  say,  in  the  rainy  season 
— they  attain  the  dimension  of  large  rivers,  and 
travelling  in  the  llanos  on  horseback  then 
becomes  most  difficult.  We  came  frequently 
upon  copses  of  the  moriche  palms  already 
described.  In  the  centre  of  these  copses  one 
always  finds  a  cool  natural  basin  of  water, 
which  is  preferred  by  the  natives  as  being  the 
healthiest  and  the  sweetest  of  the  locality — 
agua  de  morichal.  There  must  be  something 
in  it,  for  the  cattle  also  prefer  this  water  to  that 
of  the  rivers  and  canos. 

To  our  inexperienced  eye  the  llanos  bore  no 
landmark  which  might  serve  as  a  guide  to  our 
movements.  After  a  copse  of  moriche  palms 
came  another  one,  and  then  another  one,  and 
no  sooner  was  one  cafio  crossed  than  another 
took  its  place,  so  that  without  guides  it  would 
have  been  impossible  for  us  to  know  whether 
we  were  moving  in  the  right  direction. 

Leal  advised  us  to  lose  no  time,  as  the 
journey  we   had    before    us  was   a   long   one. 

5 


66      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

Now  that  we  were  close  to  the  beginning  of 
our  canoe  journey  on  the  rivers,  we  at  once  set 
to  counting  the  belongings  we  had  brought  at 
such  great  expense  and  trouble  from  the  high 
plateau  of  Bogota,  which  seemed  ever  so  far 
away  when  with  the  mind's  eye  we  beheld  it 
perched  like  an  eagle's  nest  high  up  on  the 
summit  of  those  mountains  that  it  had  taken 
us  about  eighteen  days  to  descend.  As  every 
inch  of  ground  that  we  had  left  behind  had 
been,  so  to  say,  felt  by  us,  the  distance  appeared 
enormous,  and  the  old  city  and  the  plateau 
seemed  more  like  the  remembrance  of  a  dream 
than  of  a  reality.  We  drew  up  our  inventory, 
and  found  that  we  were  the  happy  possessors 
of  about  eight  cases,  50  pounds  in  weight 
each,  containing  preserved  meats,  vegetables, 
and  food  of  all  kinds  in  boxes,  jars,  tins,  and 
so  forth.  Next  came  about  six  large  jugs  or 
demijohns  of  native  fire-water,  or  aguardiente, 
a  most  useful  and  indispensable  beverage  in 
those  latitudes,  and  about  half  a  ton  of  salt, 
a  most  precious  article  in  that  region.  We 
were  going  across  the  plains  where  there  are 
neither  salt-water  fountains  nor  salt-bearing 
rock  deposits,  and  we  knew  that  as  an  article 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      67 

of  barter,  salt  went  far  beyond  anything  else 
that  we  might  possess,  hence  the  large  quantity 
which  we  carried.  Our  arsenal  consisted  of 
four  fowling-pieces,  six  Remington  and  two 
Spencer  rifles,  plenty  of  ammunition,  cartridges, 
gunpowder,  one  dozen  cutlasses,  or  machetes^ 
and  four  revolvers.  We  also  had  a  box  with 
books,  our  trunks  with  clothing,  rugs,  mosquito- 
nets,  waterproof  sheets,  a  medicine-chest,  and 
two  guitars  of  the  native  Colombian  type  ;  but 
what  rendered  us  most  important  and  steady 
service  during  the  whole  of  that  journey  was 
a  certain  wicker  basket,  i  yard  long,  f  of  a 
yard  wide,  and  10  inches  in  height,  which 
contained  a  complete  assortment  of  cooking 
utensils  and  table-ware  for  six  persons — plates, 
corkscrews,  can-openers,  frying-pans,  and  all 
that  one  could  wish  to  prepare  as  sumptuous 
a  meal  as  mortal  man  could  desire  in  those  vast 
solitudes.  The  saucepans,  six  in  number,  fitted 
one  inside  of  the  other,  nest-wise ;  they  were 
copper-bottomed,  and  proved  of  inestimable 
value.  The  tumblers  and  cups  were  also 
nested  —  pewter  ware  with  porcelain  inside. 
Everything  was  complete,  compact,  and  so 
solid  that,  after  the  long  journey  with  its  vicis- 

5—2 


68      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

situdes,  the  wicker  basket  and  its  contents, 
though  looking  somewhat  the  worse  for  wear, 
were  perfectly  serviceable. 

Leal,  a  man  of  simple  habits,  who  had  never 
been  in  a  town  of  more  than  4,000  or  5,000 
nhabitants,  on  looking  at  that  display  of  super- 
fluous articles,  argued  that  we  were  altogether 
too  rich,  and  that  our  movements  would  be 
greatly  facilitated  were  we  to  dispense  with, 
say,  two-thirds  of  what  lay  before  him  on  the 
ground.  We  pleaded  that  since  the  worst  had 
been  accomplished,  namely,  the  transportation 
across  land,  roads,  and  mountain  trails,  we 
might  as  well  keep  what  we  had,  and  only 
abandon  it  when  forced  to  do  so.  Leal  nodded 
his  head,  as  one  who  sees  that  it  is  useless 
to  argue,  and  nothing  more  was  said  on  the 
subject. 

Everything  was  prepared  on  that  New  Year's 
Day  to  start  on  the  next  day  for  the  neigh- 
bouring cattle-farm  of  Santa  Rosa  del  Tua, 
situated  on  the  river  Tua,  one  of  the  affluents 
of  the  Meta,  which  itself  is  one  of  the  most 
important  tributaries  of  the  mighty  Orinoco. 
These  arrangements  and  decisions  once  arrived 
at,   it  was   deemed    prudent   to    celebrate   our 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      69 

arrival  into  the  place,  and  the  arrival  on  the 
scene  of  life  of  the  New  Year,  by  a  banquet 
worthy  of  the  double  occasion. 

A  heifer  was  slaughtered.  Leal  brought  upon 
the  scene,  in  front  of  the  house  where  we  were 
stopping,  the  whole  side  of  the  animal  trimmed 
and  prepared  for  roasting ;  he  had  passed 
through  it,  skewer-wise,  a  long  thin  pole  of 
some  special  wood  hard  and  difficult  to  burn. 
A  huge  bonfire  was  lit  on  the  ground,  and 
Leal  fixed  the  lower  end  of  the  skewer  quite 
close  to  the  fire,  holding  the  side  of  the  heifer 
now  right  over  the  flame,  now  at  a  certain 
distance,  turning  and  twisting  it  with  consum- 
mate skill.  The  air  was  soon  scented  with  that 
odour  of  roast  meat  which  so  deliciously  tickles 
the  nostrils  of  him  who  has  an  empty  stomach. 
Looking  at  Leal  doing  the  roasting,  I  realized 
Brillat-Savarin's  dictum  :  On  devient  aiisinier, 
on  nait  rotisseur.  Leal,  it  not  a  born  poet,  was 
a  born  roaster.  Soon  the  meat  was  ready  ;  our 
plates,  forks,  and  knives  not  being  sufficient 
for  the  crowd,  we  preferred  not  to  bring  them 
forth.  Large  leaves,  green,  fresh,  and  shiny, 
cut  from  the  neighbouring  banana  and  plantain 
trees,  were  laid  on  the  ground  both  as  a  cover 


70      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

and  as  dishes.  Leal  unsheathed  from  his  belt 
a  long-,  thin  shining  knife  as  sharp  as  a  razor, 
and  with  wonderful  dexterity  cut  the  huge 
joint,  separating  the  ribs,  so  that  everyone 
could  have  a  bone  with  a  large  portion  of  hot, 
steaming,  newly-broiled  meat.  Bread  was  not 
forthcoming,  but  there  was  an  abundance  of 
baked  and  roasted  green  plantains,  crisp  and 
mealy,  which  did  service  for  the  best  bread  ; 
at  least,  so  we  thought.  As  for  meat,  never 
in  my  life  do  I  remember  having  enjoyed  such 
a  delicious  morsel  :  so  the  banquet  consisted 
of  meat  and  roasted  plantains  a  discretion.  A 
bottle  of  rum  which  belonged  to  our  stock,  and 
which  I  had  forgotten  in  the  inventory  given 
above,  went  round  the  guests  of  that  primitive 
board,  warming  our  hearts  into  conviviality  and 
good-humour.  Finally  came  the  big  bowls  of 
coffee,  prepared  according  to  the  local  fashion, 
which  deserves  to  be  described.  The  coffee  is 
roasted  and  ground  in  the  usual  way,  but  these 
operations  are  only  carried  out  just  before  the 
liquor  is  brewed.  In  a  large  saucepan  cold 
water,  sweetened  to  the  taste  with  black  sugar, 
is  placed  over  the  fire,  and  the  necessary  amount 
of  ground  coffee  is  thrown  into  it  before  it  gets 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      71 

warm.  The  heating  should  not  be  too  rapid  ; 
when  the  first  bubbles  indicate  that  the  boiling- 
point  is  about  to  be  reached,  the  saucepan  is 
withdrawn  from  the  fire,  and  a  spoonful  of  cold 
water  dashed  upon  the  surface  of  the  hot 
liquor  almost  in  ebullition.  This  precipitates 
the  roasted  coffee  to  the  bottom,  and  gives  a 
most  delicious  beverage,  which,  though  not  as 
strong  as  the  coffee  distilled  according  to  other 
methods,  retains  all  the  aroma  and  flavour  of 
the  grain.  The  method  is  a  very  good  one  in 
localities  where  delicate  coffee-machines  cannot 
be  easily  procured,  and  it  is  in  truth  nothing 
more  or  less  than  the  method  of  preparing 
Turkish  coffee,  with  less  fuss  than  is  required 
for  the  Oriental  variety. 

We  had  soon  grown,  in  that  very  first  day  of 
our  encounter  with  him,  to  like  Leal  and  to 
wonder  at  his  intimate  knowledge  of  the  plains, 
the  forests,  and  the  rivers  of  that  vast  region. 
He  was  not  a  Colombian  ;  he  had  been  born 
on  the  shores  of  the  river  Gaurico,  one  of  the 
affluents  of  the  Orinoco.  From  boyhood  he 
had  thus  come  into  daily  contact  with  the 
mighty  rivers  and  the  deep  and  mysterious 
forests  that  cover  their  shores.      His  plan  was 


72      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

that  we  should  first  follow  the  river  Tua  down 
to  the  Meta.  On  arriving  at  this  latter  river, 
we  should  have  to  find  larger  canoes,  which 
would  enable  us  to  reach  the  Orinoco.  Once 
on  the  Orinoco  we  would  arrive  at  the  settle- 
ment called  Urbana,  where  we  were  sure  to 
obtain  larger  craft  in  which  to  go  as  far  as 
Caicara.  Here  we  might  wait  for  the  steamers 
that  go  to  Ciudad  Bolivar.  As  to  the  time  re- 
quired for  this  journey,  Leal  said  that,  barring 
unforeseen  obstacles,  fifty  days  might  suffice 
for  us  to  reach  Ciudad  Bolivar.  The  only 
inhabited  places  which  we  would  come  across 
were  first  San  Pedro  del  Arrastradero,  then 
Orocue,  and  finally  San  Rafael,  the  last 
Colombian  settlements  where  troops  were 
stationed,  and  on  inquiry  Leal  stated  that  on 
the  river  Meta  it  was  necessary  to  follow  the 
only  channel  that  existed,  so  that  it  would  be 
indispensable  for  us  to  touch  at  the  various 
towns  he  had  named,  as  there  was  no  lateral 
cafios  by  which  we  might  avoid  them,  should 
we  want  to  do  so,  as  was  the  case  in  other 
parts  of  the  plains,  where  one  might  either 
follow  the  main  stream  or  some  cano  or  tribu- 
tary.   If  we  wanted  to  take  another  river  route, 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      73 

we  might,  on  reaching  San  Pedro  del  Arras- 
tradero,  walk  a  short  distance  of  about  a  mile 
to  the  cafio  called  Caracarate,  which  would  take 
us  to  the  river  Muco,  an  affluent  of  the  Vichada, 
almost  as  large  as  the  Meta  River,  and  flowing 
into  the  Orinoco.  But,  said  Leal,  if  we  follow 
the  Vichada  instead  of  arriving  on  the  Orinoco 
below  the  rapids,  we  shall  strike  that  river 
above  the  rapids,  and  these  alone  will  entail 
more  trouble  and  difficulty  and  require  more 
time  than  any  other  part  of  the  river.  For 
the  moment  no  decision  was  taken.  The  ques- 
tion was  left  open  to  be  solved  as  might  be 
most  convenient  at  an  opportune  moment. 


CHAPTER  VII 

Early  next  morning,  January  2,  we  started 
from  the  village,  and,  after  a  short  ride  across 
the  plain,  reached  the  river  Tua,  at  the  house 
of  a  small  cattle-ranch  called  Santa  Rosa 
del  Tua. 

The  owner  of  the  premises  welcomed  us 
most  hospitably,  and,  to  our  joy,  placed  at  our 
disposal  two  small  canoes.  No  others  were  to 
be  found  there  at  the  moment.  However, 
they  were  large  enough  to  carry  us  and  our 
belongings,  and  accordingly  we  made  ready  for 
an  early  start  next  day. 

The  houses — or  what  serve  for  houses  in 
the  llanos — are  built  on  the  most  primitive 
architectural  principles.  Poles,  varying  in 
thickness  and  in  length,  according  to  the  pro- 
portions of  the  desired  structure,  are  sunk  into 
the  ground  at  convenient  distances,  following 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      75 

the  lines  either  of  a  perfect  square  or  of  a  rect- 
angle. Cross-beams  are  nailed  or  tied  to  the 
vertical  poles  at  the  required  height ;  in  the 
latter  case  the  vertical  poles  are  grooved,  so  as 
to  give  additional  support.  From  the  cross- 
beams on  either  side  other  beams  are  thrown, 
slanting  so  as  to  meet  in  the  centre,  thus 
forming  the  basis  of  the  roof,  which  is  again 
covered  with  reeds,  upon  which  are  placed 
several  layers  of  palm-leaves,  fastened  by- 
means  of  thin  ropes  to  the  slanting  beams  and 
poles ;  and  thus  the  roof  is  completed.  This 
finishes  the  house  for  use  during  the  dry  season. 

During  the  wet  season  the  sides  are  covered 
in  the  same  fashion  as  the  roof.  The  palm-leaf 
most  used  is  that  of  the  nioricke,  which  abounds 
in  the  llanos. 

When  lying  in  the  hammock  during  the  dry 
season  one  feels  the  breath  of  the  breeze  as  it 
blows  across  the  plain,  and  may  see  the  stars 
twinkling  in  the  deep  blue  dome  of  heaven,  like 
far-off  tapers.  The  llaneros,  or  inhabitants  of 
the  plains,  prefer  to  sleep  in  the  open  air,  even 
without  palm-leaf  roofing  above  their  heads.  It 
is  as  though  they  felt  imprisoned  indoors,  and 
pined  for  the  ampler  ether. 


76      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

Here  we  had  thus  reached  the  last  stage 
of  our  land  journey.  The  real  voyage  was 
about  to  begin. 

The  reader  who  has  followed  me  thus  far 
will  have  gathered  that  there  were  three  of  us 
in  this  expedition — Alex,  Raoul,  and  myself. 
With  us  came  our  servant  Fermin,  who 
adapted  himself  to  the  most  urgent  require- 
ments, being  now  muleteer,  now  valet,  now 
cook.  Leal  had  engaged  the  services  of  several 
peones  to  paddle  the  canoes  when  we  reached 
the  Tua  River  ;  these  numbered  seventeen,  so 
that,  including  Leal  and  ourselves,  we  formed  a 
group  of  twenty-two  men.  The  canoes  were  so 
small  that  we  were  packed  like  herrings,  but,  as 
it  was  impossible  to  obtain  others,  we  had  to 
make  the  best  of  them. 

Raoul  was  a  sportsman  :  more  than  once 
he  had  taken  up  arms  against  the  harmless 
ducks  that  swarm  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year 
in  the  lakes  studding  the  plateau  of  Bogota.  I 
had  no  personal  knowledge  of  his  powers,  but, 
with  the  modesty  and  truthfulness  characteristic 
of  all  hunters  and  fishermen,  he  carefully  im- 
pressed upon  us  that  he  was  a  dead  shot,  and 
that    when    a    bird,    hare,    or    any    furred    or 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      77 

feathered  creature,  came  within  range  of  his  gun 
its  doom  was  certain. 

Immediately  upon  our  arrival  at  the  river 
Tua,  the  shores  of  which  are  covered  with  a 
dense  forest,  he  called  our  attention  to  the 
numberless  birds  to  be  seen,  and  as  soon  as  he 
could  manage  it  he  left  us,  accompanied  by  one 
of  the  men,  and  was  speedily  lost  to  sight 
amongst  the  trees.  Shortly  afterwards  the 
report  of  his  gun  reached  us  with  such  fre- 
quency that  one  might  think  he  was  wasting 
powder  for  mere  love  of  smoke.  By-and-by 
he  returned,  bringing  with  him  about  sixteen 
different  birds  of  various  sizes  and  kinds, 
sufficient  to  feed  the  whole  expedition  for  one 
or  two  days.  He  was  on  the  point  of  starting 
on  another  murderous  excursion,  when  we 
remonstrated  against  the  wanton  destruction 
of  animal  life.  Leal  quietly  observed  that  if 
Raoul  thus  continued  wasting  powder  and  shot 
he  would  soon  exhaust  our  store  of  those  indis- 
pensable articles,  the  lack  of  which  might  entail 
most  serious  consequences  later  on.  On  hearing 
this  we  held  what  might  be  called  a  council  of 
war,  at  which  it  was  decided  that  no  more  birds 
or  game  were  to  be  shot  than  were  absolutely 


78       DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

indispensable.  Wc  were  inHuenced  not  so 
much  by  a  feeling  of  humanity  or  love  for  the 
birds  as  by  the  fact  that  a  long  journey  lay 
before  us,  that  the  loss  of  a  canoe,  the  flooding 
of  a  river,  or  illness,  or  any  accident  that  might 
befall  us,  would  detain  us  for  much  longer  than 
we  had  bargained.  Raoul  reluctantly  listened 
to  all  these  reasons,  but,  acknowledging  their 
force,  agreed  to  comply  with  them. 

Our  descent  of  the  river  Tua  began  next  day. 
The  waters  were  very  shallow,  owing  to  the 
dry  season,  and,  as  our  men  could  not  use  their 
paddles,  they  punted  the  canoes  down-stream. 
We  were  often  detained  by  palisades  which 
obstructed  the  current.  These  were  formed 
by  trunks  uprooted  from  the  shores  by  the  river 
in  its  flood,  and  then  jettisoned  in  the  bed  of 
the  stream.  In  the  dry  season  they  stood  forth 
like  small  islands,  and  gathered  round  them  all 
the  floating  debris  of  the  river.  These  pali- 
sades, with  which  we  met  very  often,  gave  us  a 
deal  of  trouble.  We  often  had  to  jump  out  of 
the  canoes  and  either  drag  or  push  them,  as 
they  would  stick  to  the  sandy  bottom,  and 
punting  failed  to  make  them  budge.  We  took 
to  this  task  cheerfully,  and   found   it   tolerable 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE       79 

sport,  until  one  of  our  men  was  stung  by  a 
peculiar  sort  of  fish,  black  and  round,  called 
raya.  This  lies  hidden  in  the  sand,  and,  when 
touched  or  trodden  upon,  stings,  darting  its 
harpoon  into  the  ankle  or  the  calf,  leaving 
its  point  in  the  wound,  a  most  painful  one, 
which  continues  to  smart  for  several  days. 
The  man,  who  was  stung  in  our  presence, 
cried  and  moaned  like  a  child,  so  intense  was 
the  pain.  After  this  we  were  decidedly  chary 
of  lending  a  hand  in  dragging  or  pushing  the 
canoes,  and — I  must  confess  it  to  our  shame — 
we  would  wade  booted  to  the  shore  and  wait 
till  they  had  been  got  afloat  again,  rather  than 
take  the  chances  of  being  stung  in  our  turn. 

We  had  started  at  about  six  in  the  morning ; 
towards  five  in  the  afternoon  Leal  began  to 
cast  his  eyes  about  in  search  of  a  nice,  dry, 
sandy  beach  upon  which  to  pitch  our  camp  for 
the  night.  So  far  we  had  always  found  some 
house  or  hut  to  sleep  in  ;  now,  for  the  first 
time,  we  were  faced  by  the  necessity  of  camp- 
ing in  the  open  air  without  any  roof  whatever 
above  our  heads.  We  experienced  a  peculiar 
sensation  of  unwarranted  fear — a  dread  arising, 
doubtless,  from  the  force  of  habit  in  the  civilized 


8o      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

man,  naturally  averse  to  imitating  the  birds  and 
the  beasts,  which  sleep  under  God's  heaven 
and  run  all  risks  ;  but  whatever  our  feelings, 
we  were  forced  to  accept  the  inevitable. 

As  soon  as  a  satisfactory  strip  of  beach  was 
found,  we  jumped  ashore.  The  canoes  were 
dragged  halfway  out  of  the  water,  and  tied 
with  stout  ropes  to  neighbouring  trees  to  pre- 
vent their  being  carried  away  in  case  of  an 
unexpected  flood — by  no  means  an  impossible 
contingency.  The  men  took  out  the  mats 
upon  which  we  were  to  sleep,  and  as  there 
were  swarms  of  the  mosquitoes,  sand-flies,  and 
numerous  insects  which  make  life  a  burden  in 
the  early  hours  of  the  night  on  the  shores  of 
these  rivers,  the  mosquito-bars,  made  of  cotton 
cloth,  were  rigged  up  over  the  mats. 

Fermin,  who  had  been  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  private  cook  for  Alex,  Raoul,  and  myself, 
prepared  our  supper,  making  use  of  the  sauce- 
pans and  sundry  implements  contained  in  our 
travelling  basket.  To  prepare  their  meals,  the 
men  used  a  huge  iron  pot,  which  was  soon 
tilted  over  a  large  fire. 

We  were  four  days  on  the  river  Tua  punting 
or  paddling,  according  to  the  depth  of  water. 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      8i 

When  we  reached  the  river  Meta,  we  had 
already  arranged  the  daily  routine  best  suited 
to  our  requirements,  and  I  might  as  well,  once 
for  all,  describe  it. 

Our  acting  chief.  Leal,  ever  watchful  and 
alert,  wakened  us  at  about  three  in  the  morning. 
Every  man  had  his  appointed  task :  two  of 
them  prepared  the  indispensable  coffee  in  the 
fashion  of  the  land  ;  others  folded  up  the  mats, 
the  mosquito-bars,  and  whatever  else  might 
have  been  landed.  Alex,  Raoul,  and  I  would 
in  the  meantime  stand  on  the  river  brink, 
whilst  two  of  the  men  poured  upon  us  small 
cataracts  of  water  drawn  from  the  river  in  the 
coyabras  or  totumas  cut  from  native  gourds, 
which  form  an  indispensable  part  of  the 
domestic  arrangements  in  the  llanos.  It  would 
have  been  sheer  madness  to  bathe  in  the  river, 
with  its  rayas,  or  water-snakes,  or  perhaps 
some  shy,  dissembling  alligator  in  quest  of  a 
tasty  morsel. 

Sandy  beaches  are  the  best  places  for  camp- 
ing on  the  shores  of  tropical  rivers.  They  are 
dry,  clean,  soft,  and  perfectly  free  from  snakes, 
scorpions,  tarantulas,  and  all  such  obnoxious 
creatures,  which   are  more  likely  to  be  found 

6 


82       DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

amongst  the  high  luxuriant  grass  and  the  leafy- 
trees. 

Between  four  and  five,  as  soon  as  it  was 
ready,  every  man  drank  a  large  goblet  of 
coffee  and  a  small  glass  of  aniseed  aguardiente^ 
which  is  said  to  be  a  specific  against  malaria. 
The  men's  faith  in  the  virtue  of  the  distilled 
spirit  was  astounding ;  they  never  failed  to 
take  it,  and  would  even  ask  for  more,  lest  the 
quantity  given  were  not  enough  to  protect 
them  from  the  dreaded  illness.  Though  the 
merits  of  quinine  are  more  universally  acknow- 
ledged, it  did  not  seem  to  be  as  acceptable,  nor 
to  be  coveted  with  equal  greediness. 

We  generally  started  at  about  five  in  the 
morning,  paddling  steadily  till  about  eleven, 
when  we  landed  as  soon  as  we  found  a  suitable 
spot,  if  possible  shaded  with  trees.  Here  we 
would  hang  the  hammocks,  prepare  the  mid- 
day repast,  and  wait  until  three,  letting  the 
hottest  hours  of  the  day  pass  by.  At  this 
time  the  sun  seemed  to  dart  real  rays  of  fire 
upon  the  burnished  waters,  whose  reflection 
dazzled  and  blinded  our  eyes. 

About  three  in  the  afternoon  we  would  start 
again  for  two  or  three  hours  more,  until  a  con- 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      83 

venient  beach  was  found  ;  once  there,  the  camp 
was  formed  without  delay,  the  canoes  tied 
up,  the  mats  spread,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
two  huge  bonfires,  made  of  driftwood,  sent 
their  glad  flames  flickering  in  the  night  air. 
After  supper  we  crept  under  the  mosquito- 
bars,  and  waited  for  Leal  to  call  us  in  the 
morning. 

The  seasons  in  the  plains,  as  is  well  known, 
are  sharply  divided  into  dry  and  rainy.  The 
first  lasts  from  May  to  November,  and  the 
second  from  November  to  May.  During  the 
wet  season  it  rains  from  eighteen  to  twenty 
hours  out  of  the  twenty-four  ;  showers  are  not 
frequent  during  the  dry  season,  but  they  fall 
now  and  then. 

The  third  or  fourth  night  that  we  spent  on 
the  banks  of  the  Tua,  I  was  awakened  by 
feeling  a  moist  sheet  over  my  face,  and  at  once 
realized  that  the  heavy  rain  had  beaten  down 
the  mosquito-bar.  There  was  nothing  for  it 
but  to  cover  myself  with  the  waterproof 
poncho,  sitting  up  for  greater  convenience,  and 
disengaging  myself  from  the  fallen  mosquito- 
net.  There  we  all  sat  helpless  under  the 
dense  cataract.     The  beach,  slanting  towards 

6—2 


84      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

the  river,  bore  with  it  the  waters  from  the 
higher  ground,  and  as  my  body  made  an  in- 
denture in  the  sand,  I  felt  on  either  side  a 
rushing  stream.  Fortunately,  the  shower  was 
soon  over,  the  bonfires  were  heaped  with 
driftwood  and  blazed  forth  joyously.  Coffee 
was  specially  prepared  for  the  occasion,  and  we 
sat  in  the  genial  warmth  of  the  flames  until  the 
sun  burst  forth  on  the  horizon.  That  morning 
we  did  not  start  as  early  as  usual  :  the  tents 
and  covers  were  spread  in  the  sun,  and  after  an 
hour  or  so  were  again  dry  and  soft.  Then 
we  started  on  our  journey,  leaving  behind 
us  the  discomforts  of  the  night.  The  rain 
seemed  to  have  gladdened  the  forest,  and 
brightened  the  trees  and  bushes  into  a  livelier 
green.  During  the  journey  we  underwent  a 
similar  experience  upon  two  or  three  other 
occasions. 

As  for  food,  we  had  a  comfortable  supply, 
and  hardly  a  day  passed  without  our  having 
either  some  fine  bird,  or  at  times  a  larger  piece 
of  game  in  the  shape  of  a  species  of  wild-boar, 
fairly  plentiful  in  that  locality,  the  flesh  of  which 
is  quite  agreeable  after  one  learns  to  eat  it. 
Besides  game,  we  also  had  plenty  of  fish.     All 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      85 

this  without  counting  the  salt  meat  and  tinned 
provisions.  The  birds  most  abundant  were 
ducks  of  various  descriptions,  wild  turkeys,  and 
a  beautiful  bird  of  fme  dark-bluish  plumage, 
similar  to  a  wild  turkey,  called  paujil  by  the 
natives,  the  meat  of  which  greatly  resembles 
that  of  the  pheasant. 

At  about  this  stage  of  the  journey  an  incident 
took  place  which  shows  how  even  the  humblest 
tasks  in  life  require  a  certain  degree  of  ability 
and  experience.  One  day  on  the  river  Tua, 
Raoul  —  who,  as  I  have  said,  was  a  great 
hunter  before  the  Lord,  and  had  no  more 
esteem  than  most  men  for  the  milder  arts — had 
brought  down  a  beautiful  duck  of  exceptional 
size,  and  of  the  kind  known  as  'royal  duck.' 
Not  satisfied  with  his  triumph  as  a  Nimrod,  he 
took  it  into  his  head  to  cook  the  bird  himself 
and  rival  the  achievements  of  Vattel  or  Careme. 
He  invited  me  to  help  him  in  his  undertaking. 
My  culinary  attainments  being  purely  of  a 
theoretical  kind,  I  promised  him  my  moral 
support  and  hearty  co-operation  in  the  shape 
of  advice.  We  invited  Alex  to  share  our 
wonderful  supper,  to  which  he  replied  that, 
being  aware  of  the  perils  most  incident  to  the 


86      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

efforts  of  inexperienced  cooks,  however  enthu- 
siastic they  might  be,  he  preferred  the  men's 
supper,  which,  though  humbler,  was  far  more 
to  be  depended  on.  Heedless  of  this  taunt, 
Raoul  went  on  with  his  work.  A  pot  filled 
with  water  was  placed  over  the  fire,  and  as 
soon  as  it  was  boiling  the  bird  was  plunged 
into  it.  In  due  course  Raoul  began  to  pluck 
valiantly ;  feathers  black  and  bluish  fell  from 
his  hand  numerous  as  flakes  of  snow  in  a  winter 
storm.  When  he  began  to  tire  after  a  while, 
I  took  the  bird  in  hand,  and  continued  the 
task,  the  feathers  falling  like  dry  leaves  in  the 
autumnal  forest.  After  half  an  hour  of  steady 
work,  when  the  ground  was  literally  covered 
with  black  feathers,  that  blessed  bird  seemed 
untouched.  We  were  beginning  to  feel  anxious 
and  hungry,  and  the  tempting  whiffs  from  the 
large  iron  pot,  where  the  men  were  stirring 
their  stew,  stung  our  nostrils  in  a  tantalizing 
fashion.  However,  it  was  now  a  question  of 
pride  and  self-esteem,  and  we  were  bound  to 
cook  the  bird  at  any  cost.  By-and-by  Alex, 
holding  a  steaming  plate  in  his  hand,  came 
to  us  and  invited  us  to  eat.  Raoul  rejected 
the  offer,   and  though   I    was  most  anxious  to 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE       87 

accept  it,  I  felt  bound  in  loyalty  to  stand 
by  him.  We  told  xA.lex  that  we  wanted  to 
reserve  the  fulness  of  our  appetite  for  our 
delicious  bird,  to  which  Alex  replied  that  by 
the  time  that  bird  was  ready  we  should  certainly 
be  hungry  enough  to  devour  it,  leaving  the 
bones  quite  clean.  Raoul  and  I  took  turns  at 
plucking  the  duck,  which  at  last  seemed  to 
yield,  showing  a  few  whitish  specks  here  and 
there  devoid  of  all  feathery  covering.  Seeing 
our  plight,  Fermin,  who  had  stood  by,  not 
being  called  upon  to  help,  seized  the  bird, 
declaring  that  we  had  allowed  it  to  become 
chilled,  and  that  the  perfect  plucking  of  it 
was  well-nigh  impossible.  However,  he  under- 
took the  job  most  courageously,  and  finally, 
taking  advantage  of  the  shades  of  night,  which 
facilitated  a  compromise,  we  dropped  that 
royal  duck  into  the  boiling  water  and  pre- 
tended to  enjoy  our  supper,  such  as  it  was, 
when  ready.  How  much  we  ate  is  a  question 
as  to  which  I  need  not  go  into  detail  here,  but 
I  must  own  that  in  lying  down  upon  my  mat 
under  the  mosquito-bar  I  felt  famished.  From 
that  day  onwards  both  Raoul  and  I  decided 
to  forego   all   interference  in  matters  culinary. 


88      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

beyond  occasional  advice.  I  have  no  doubt  that, 
had  Fermin  or  one  of  the  men  undertaken  the 
task,  we  should  not  only  have  had  our  supper 
much  sooner,  but  a  dish  fit  for  any  man's 
palate. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

On  the  fourth  day,  about  two  hours'  sail  from 
the  confluence  of  the  Tua  with  the  Meta  River, 
we  stopped  at  a  large  cattle-ranch  called  Santa 
Barbara.  The  owner  invited  us  to  a  dinner — 
the  inevitable  dishes  of  the  llano  :  meat  roasted 
over  a  bonfire,  plaintains  and  coffee. 

The  ranch  consisted,  we  were  told,  of  about 
10,000  head  of  cattle,  and  was  typical  of  the 
ranches  to  be  found  on  the  llanos  of  Colombia 
and  Venezuela. 

Here,  in  the  person  of  what  might  be  called 
the  sub-manager,  whose  name  was  Secundino, 
we  came  face  to  face  with  a  real  tiger-hunter. 

After  dinner  I  asked  Secundino  how  men 
fleeted  the  time  away  in  that  lonely  region 
beyond  the  din  of  civilized  life.  His  state- 
ments corroborated  what  I  had  heard  before, 
that   there   is    no   ownership   of    land   in    the 


go       DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

llanos ;  the  herds  graze  freely  over  the  plains, 
the  animals  being  practically  wild,  and  kept 
together  by  the  presence  amongst  them  of  a 
few  tame  cattle  which,  being  accustomed  to 
the  presence  of  man,  will  remain  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  houses  or  caneyes.  Another 
great  attraction  to  the  cattle  is  the  salt  which 
is  strewn  upon  large  slabs  of  stone  or  flat 
boards.  By  these  two  devices,  thousands  of 
animals  are  kept  within  a  comparatively  short 
distance  of  the  ranch. 

To  enable  each  ranch-owner  to  brand  the 
cattle  belonging  to  him,  rodeos  or  round-ups 
are  held  two  or  three  times  during  the  year. 
These  rodeos  are  gatherings  of  the  herds.  The 
men  ride  out  in  all  directions  from  the  ranch, 
and  drive  the  cattle  towards  the  corrales.  In 
this  task  they  are  greatly  helped  by  the  presence 
of  the  tame  animals,  which  are  easily  led  or 
driven  as  required,  and  are  always  followed  by 
the  others. 

Once  in  the  corrales,  the  branding  begins. 
A  red-hot  iron  is  used,  shaped  either  to  form 
one  or  two  letters  or  some  special  sign  which 
constitutes  the  trade  or  hall  mark,  so  to  speak, 
of    the    respective    ranch.       The   animals    are 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      91 

forced  to  pass  through  a  long,  narrow  enclosure 
between  two  fences,  and  are  branded  as  they 
go  by  ;  but  with  animals  that  give  a  great  deal 
of  trouble  a  different  method  is  followed.  This 
consists  in  starting  the  bull,  heifer,  or  cow,  as 
the  case  may  be,  on  the  run.  A  man  on  horse- 
back follows,  and  when  both  the  horse  and  the 
bull  have  attained  sufficient  impetus,  the  man 
seizes  the  bull  by  the  tail,  and  with  a  sudden 
twist  turns  it  over  on  its  side,  jumping  at  once 
from  his  horse  to  pass  the  tail  under  the  bull's 
leg ;  this  compresses  certain  muscles,  prevents 
all  motion,  and  leaves  the  fallen  animal  help- 
less. The  branding  is  then  done  without  any 
difficulty,  either  on  the  fore  or  the  hind  quarters. 
Secundino  told  us  that  this  way  of  throwing 
the  cattle  down  was  not  confined  to  the  brand- 
ing season,  but  that  it  formed  a  frequent  sport 
amongst  herdsmen  in  the  plains,  as  it  required 
great  skill  to  accomplish  it.  Another  sport  in 
which  he  and  his  friends  indulged,  and  which 
he  described  with  great  zest,  was  riding  wild 
bulls.  The  process  consists  first  in  throwing 
the  bull  to  the  ground,  whereupon  a  thick  rope 
is  tied  as  a  girdle,  only  that  it  is  placed  quite 
close  to  the  withers  and  right  under  the  fore- 


92      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

legs  of  the  animal.  All  this  time  the  bull  has 
been  held  on  the  ground,  bellowing  and  panting 
for  sheer  rage  ;  as  soon  as  the  rope  is  ready, 
the  intending  rider  stands  by  the  side  of  the 
animal  with  his  two  hands  stuck  between  the 
rope  and  the  skin,  on  either  side  of  the  spine, 
and  the  moment  the  bull  is  let  loose  and  stands 
on  its  feet  the  man  leaps  on  its  back.  Then 
follows  a  wonderful  struggle :  the  beast,  un- 
accustomed to  any  burden,  rears  and  plunges, 
springs  backwards  and  forwards  with  great 
violence  ;  the  man,  always  spurred,  increases 
the  fury  of  the  animal  by  pricking  its  sides. 
His  two  arms,  like  bars  of  iron,  stand  rigid, 
and  man  and  bullock  seem  as  though  made 
of  one  piece.  At  last  the  bull  is  exhausted,  and 
sullenly  acknowledges  the  superior  force  of  the 
rider;  but  it  takes  rare  courage  and  strength 
to  accomplish  this  feat. 

After  describing  these  and  other  pastimes, 
Secundino  quietly  added  : 

'  Whenever  my  work  leaves  me  time,  I  kill 
tigers.' 

He  said  this  unpretentiously,  yet  with  a 
certain  air  of  self-consciousness  that  must  have 
brought  the  shadow  of  a  doubting  smile  to  my 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      93 

lips.  Secundino  saw  this,  and,  without  appearing 
to  take  notice  of  it,  invited  us  outside  the  house, 
and  showed  us,  at  a  certain  distance  from  it, 
lying  on  the  ground,  ten  tigers'  skulls,  some 
of  which  bore  traces  of  having  been  recently 
cleansed  from  skin  and  flesh. 

'You  see,'  he  added,  'that  I  have  some  proofs 
of  my  tiger-killing!' 

He  told  us  that  the  tigers  were  the  worst 
enemies  of  the  cattle-farmer. 

*  Other  animals,'  he  said,  '  will  take  just 
what  they  want,  but  the  tiger  is  fierce,  cruel, 
and  kills  for  the  sake  of  killing-  If  he  should 
happen  to  get  into  an  enclosure  containing 
twenty  or  thirty  young  calves,  he  will  kill  them 
all,  and  take  one  away  with  him.  We  are  at 
open  and  constant  warfare  with  the  tigers,'  he 
added,  *  and  there  is  no  truce  between  us,' 

The  llaneros  usually  kill  tigers  by  spearing 
them.  Referring  to  this,  Secundino  said  that 
doubtless  it  was  more  dangerous  than  shooting 
the  beast  down  at  Ion"-  rano-e  with  a  Winchester 

o  o 

or  a  Remington  rifle  ;  'but,'  he  went  on  to  say, 
'  powder  and  lead  are  expensive,  cartridges  are 
difficult  to  obtain,  and  when  once  exhausted 
your  weapon   is   no  better   than  a  broomstick. 


94      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

The  spear,  however,  is  always  ready,  and  never 
fails  you.  When  I  go  out  tiger-hunting  I  take 
my  dogs,  who  follow  the  scent  and  guide  me. 
I  carry  with  me,  besides  the  spears,  a  muzzle- 
loader,  in  case  of  emergency.  The  moment 
the  dogs  see  the  tiger  they  give  cry  ;  the  beast 
seeks  higher  ground,  and  the  fight  with  the 
dogs  begins  at  once.  The  tiger  is  afraid  even 
of  a  cur.  The  dogs  that  we  have  here  are 
well  trained,  and  though  at  times  they  are 
killed  by  the  tiger,  that  seldom  happens.  I 
follow  my  dogs,  keeping  the  animal  well  in 
sight,  with  my  spear  ready,  and  at  the  right 
moment  dash  forward  and  plunge  it  into  his 
breast.  If  the  blow  is  a  good  one,  that  ends 
it.  Now  and  then  it  is  necessary  to  fire  the 
rifle  into  him  ;  but  this  is  a  great  pity,  owing 
to  the  waste  of  lead  and  gunpowder.' 

I  am  trying  to  repeat  here  word  by  word 
Secundino's  quiet  statement.  It  sounds  fanci- 
ful and  exaggerated,  but  all  those  who  have 
travelled  over  the  plains  of  either  Venezuela  or 
Colombia  will  have  heard  that  such  is  the 
commonest  mode  of  tiger-killing  amongst  the 
llaneros.  The  tiger  of  these  latitudes,  however, 
is  not  the  same  as  the  tiger  of  India  and  other 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      95 

parts  of  Asia.  It  is  smaller,  but  not  less 
ferocious  ;  it  is  spotted,  and  not  striped.  The 
spear  used  is  very  long,  made  of  very  hard 
wood,  and  has  a  most  murderous  appearance. 

Secundino,  after  telling  me  of  his  short  way 
with  tigers,  asked  me  to  handle  the  weapon, 
and  generously  gave  me  some  instructions  as  to 
the  exact  poise  to  be  adopted  for  striking  a 
blow,  explaining  to  me  how  dangerous  it  might 
be  were  I  to  forget  the  rules  which  he  could 
recommend  from  experience.  To  begin  with,  I 
could  hardly  lift  the  spear,  and,  then,  there  was 
practically  no  chance  of  my  ever  going  to  seek 
a  tiger  in  his  lair  Secundino,  however,  was 
profoundly  in  earnest,  and,  rather  than  disabuse 
him  or  hurt  his  feelings,  I  solemnly  promised 
him  that  I  would  never  kill  tigers  otherwise 
than  in  strict  conformity  with  his  advice,  and 
that  at  the  first  opportunity  I  would  practise 
throwing  the  spear  and  poising  my  body,  so  as 
to  make  sure. 

Towards  evening,  as  we  were  about  leaving, 
when  I  was  already  seated  in  the  canoe,  whilst 
Leal  was  still  ashore,  I  overheard  these  words 
passing  between  him  and  Secundino  : 

'  How  far  are  you  going,  Friend  Leal  T 


96      DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

'  Down  to  the  Orinoco,  to  accompany  these 
gentlemen.' 

'  How  are  you  coming  back,  by  land  or  by 
water  ?' 

'  I  do  not  know  yet — that  depends.' 

'  Well,  all  right ;  if  you  come  this  way,  I 
should  like  you  to  tackle  a  horse  that  we  have 
here,  which  no  one  seems  able  to  ride,  and 
which  I  dare  not  tackle  myself.' 

*  Never  you  mind,'  answered  Leal;  *  I  will  see 
to  it  when  I  return.' 

Here  was  a  revelation.  Leal's  prowess  grew 
in  our  estimation.  This  guide  of  ours  was  called 
upon  to  break  in  a  horse  which  Secundino,  the 
tiger-hunter,  whose  title  to  the  name,  if  devoid 
of  diplomas  or  academic  signatures,  was  vouched 
for  by  the  ten  tiger-skulls  which  we  had  seen, 
would  not  dare  to  ride  himself ! 

On  we  went  towards  the  Meta  River,  leaving 
our  friends  on  the  shore  shouting  to  us  messages 
of  good  speed.  We  soon  noticed  that  our  canoe, 
being  lighter  in  draft,  had  left  the  other  far 
behind  it. 

It  darkened  much  earlier  than  we  expected, 
and  to  our  great  regret  we  saw  that  the  second 
canoe  could  not  catch  us  up,  which  was  annoying, 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE      97 

as  supper,  beds,  and  everything  else,  with  the 
exception  of  a  demijohn  of  aniseed  aguardiente, 
were  in  it.  We  landed  at  the  first  beach  that 
we  struck,  hoping  against  hope  that  the 
stragglers  might  overtake  us. 

Time  had  passed  so  agreeably  at  Santa 
Barbara,  listening  to  Secundino's  tales,  that 
we  had  not  noticed  how  late  it  was.  It  seemed 
to  us,  furthermore,  that  darkness  had  set  in 
earlier  than  usual.  On  hearing  some  remark 
to  that  effect,  Fermin  observed  that  the  sun  had 
set  for  us  that  day  earlier  than  usual.  He  laid 
stress  upon  the  words  '  for  us,'  and,  on  being 
asked  what  he  meant  thereby,  said  that  the 
darkness  had  been  caused  by  a  cloud  which 
had  interposed  itself  between  us  and  the  setting 
sun,  thus  bringing  night  earlier  than  usual. 

'  What  nonsense  are  you  talking  about  T  said 
Raoul.  *  There  is  no  cloud  in  the  matter  ;  we 
went  on  talking  and  talking,  and  forgot  the  time.' 

'  No,  sir,'  Fermin  said,  without  moving  a 
muscle ;  '  I  know  what  I  am  talking  about. 
The  cloud  was  formed  by  the  feathers  of  that 
bird  which  we  tried  to  pluck  yesterday ;  they 
are  so  many  that  they  darken  the  light  of 
the  sun !' 

7 


98       DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

Up  to  this  day  I  cannot  say  what  happened. 
I  do  not  know  if  we  mistook  the  hour  of  the 
day  and  were  overtaken  by  night,  or  if,  in 
truth,  as  Fermin  asserted,  the  wrathful  ghost 
of  the  mishandled  duck  spread  its  black  feathers 
above  our  heads,  thus  forming  a  mantle  like  the 
mantle  of  arrows  which  the  Spartan  warriors 
asked  the  Persian  invaders  to  fire  at  them,  so 
that  they  might  fight  in  the  shade.  This  pro- 
blem, which  contains  historical,  astronomical 
and  atmospherical  elements,  will  remain  for 
ever  as  dark  and  mysterious  as  the  feathers  of 
the  dead  bird. 


CHAPTER  IX 

Night  soon  asserted  her  sway.  The  blue  vault 
of  heaven,  aHve  with  innumerable  stars,  was  clear 
and  diaphanous  ;  no  cloud  was  to  be  seen.  The 
evening  noises  died  away,  and  the  dead  silence 
was  only  broken  now  and  then  by  a  vague 
rumour  wafted  mysteriously  through  space — 
the  wash  of  waters  on  the  shore,  or  possibly 
the  lisp  of  forests  by  the  river.  We  gave  up 
all  hope  of  the  other  canoe  arriving  that  night, 
and  faced  the  inevitable — no  supper,  no  beds. 
As  in  our  own  canoe  we  carried  a  demijohn 
of  aguardientey  one  or  two  generous  draughts 
were  our  only  supper.  We  were  not  hampered 
by  excess  of  riches  or  of  comforts  ;  as  to  the 
selection  of  our  beds,  the  whole  extent  of  the 
beach  was  equally  sandy  and  soft ;  but,  having 
slept  for  many  nights  on  the  shores  of  the  Tua, 
and  knowing  that  we  v/ere  at  its  confluence 

7—2 


100    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

with  the  Meta,  for  the  sake  of  a  change — a 
distinction  without  a  difference — we  stretched 
ourselves  full  length  on  the  side  of  the  beach 
looking  to  the  Meta  River. 

The  water- course,  practically  unknown  to 
civilization,  appeared  to  me  as  I  lay  there  like 
a  wandering  giant  lost  amidst  the  forests  and 
the  plains  of  an  unknown  continent.  The 
surface  of  the  waters  sparkled  in  the  starlight 
like  hammered  steel.  My  thoughts  followed 
the  luminous  ripples  until  they  were  lost  to 
sight  in  the  darkness  of  the  opposite  shore, 
or,  wandering  onwards  with  the  flow,  melted 
into  the  horizon.  Whither  went  those  waters  ? 
Whence  came  they  ?  What  were  their  evolu- 
tions, changes,  and  transformations  ?  Idle  ques- 
tions !  Flow  of  life  or  flow  of  wave,  who  but 
He  that  creates  all  things  can  know  its  source 
and  its  finality  ?     Idle  cavillings  indeed  ! 

Suddenly,  as  drowsiness  had  begun  to  seize 
me,  a  wonderful  phenomenon  took  place.  There 
from  the  midst  of  the  waters  arose  an  indistinct 
yet  mighty  figure  ;  high  it  stood  amidst  the 
waters  which  parted,  forming  a  sort  of  royal 
mantle  upon  its  shoulders  ;  it  gazed  upon  me 
with    the   sublime   placidity  of  the   still    seas, 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     loi 

the  high  mountains,  the  unending  plains,  the 
primeval  forests,  and  all  the  manifestations  of 
Nature,  great  and  serene  in  their  power  and 
majesty.     And  the  figure  spoke  : 

'  Listen  to  me,  O  pilgrim,  lost  in  these  vast 
solitudes ;  listen  to  the  voice  of  the  wandering 
streams  !  We  rivers  bring  life  to  forest  and 
valley;  we  are  children  of  the  mountains,  heralds 
of  continents,  benefactors  of  man.  My  current, 
powerful  and  mighty  though  it  seems,  is  but 
a  tiny  thread  of  the  many  streams  that,  mingled 
and  interwoven,  so  to  say,  go  to  form  the  main 
artery  of  whirling,  heaving  water  called  the 
Orinoco.  From  north  and  south,  from  east 
and  west,  we  all  flow  along  the  bosom  of  the 
plains,  after  having  gathered  unto  ourselves  the 
playful  streamlets,  the  murmuring  brooks  that 
swell  into  torrents  and  dash  down  the  mountain- 
sides, filling  the  hills  and  the  intervening  valleys 
with  life  and  joy.  They  come  from  the  highest 
slopes — nay,  from  the  topmost  peaks  crowned 
with  everlasting  snow,  the  sources  of  our  life ; 
down  they  rush,  and  after  innumerable  turns 
and  twists,  after  forming  now  cataracts,  now 
placid  lakes,  reach  the  plain,  and  in  their  course 
they  broaden  the  large  streams  which  in  turn 


I02     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

merge  with  others  in  the  huge  basin,  and  form 
the  vast  artery  that  drains  the  surface  of  a  great 
part  of  the  continent,  and  bears  its  tribute  to 
the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Yea,  verily  indeed,  we 
rivers  are  as  twin  brothers  of  Time ;  the  hours 
pass  and  pass,  ceaseless  as  our  waves ;  they 
flow  into  Eternity,  we  into  the  bosom  of  the 
great  deep.  This  land,  the  land  of  your  birth 
and  of  mine,  to-day  an  unknown  quantity  in 
the  history  of  the  world,  is  a  destined  site  of 
a  mighty  empire.  The  whole  continent  of  South 
America  is  the  reserve  store  for  the  future 
generations  of  millions  of  men  yet  unborn. 
Hither  they  will  come  from  all  parts  of  the 
world  :  on  the  surface  of  the  globe  no  more 
favourable  spot  exists  for  the  home  of  mankind. 
Along  the  coast  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  runs  the 
mighty  backbone  of  the  Cordillera  like  a  bulwark, 
high,  immense,  stately  ;  above  it,  like  the  towers 
and  turrets  in  the  walls  of  a  fortified  city,  rise 
the  hundred  snow-capped  peaks  that  look  east 
and  west,  now  on  the  ocean,  now  on  the  ever- 
spreading  undulating  plains,  and  south  and  north 
to  the  line  of  mountains  extending  for  thousands 
of  miles. 

*  In  the  very  heart  of  the  tropical  zone,  where 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     103 

the  equatorial  sun  darts  his  burning  rays,  are 
the  plateaus  of  the  Andes,  hundreds  of  square 
miles  in  extent,  with  all  the  climates  and  the 
multitudinous  products  of  the  temperate  zone. 
In  the  heart  and  bowels  of  the  mountains  are 
the  precious   metals  coveted  by  man's  avarice 
and   vanity,    those   forming   the   supreme   goal 
of  his  endeavours  ;  and  the  useful — indeed,  the 
truly  precious — metals,  coal,  iron,  copper,  lead, 
and  all  others  that  are  known  to  man,  exist  in 
a  profusion   well-nigh  illimitable.     The  trade- 
winds,  whose  wings  have  swept  across  the  whole 
width  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  laden  with  moisture, 
do  not  stop  their  flight  when  the  sea  of  moving 
waters  ceases  and  the  sea  of  waving  grass  begins. 
Across  the  plains,   over   the    tree-tops   of  the 
primeval  forests,  shaking  the  plumage  of  the 
palm-trees,  ascending  the  slopes  of  the  hills, 
higher,   still  higher,    into    the   mountains,   and 
finally  up    to    the   loftiest   peaks,  those  winds 
speed  their  course,  and  there  the  last  drops  of 
moisture   are   wrung    from    them   by  that  im- 
measurable barrier  raised  by  the  hand  of  God ; 
their  force  seems  to  be  spent,  and,  like  birds 
that  have  reached  their  native  forest,  they  fold 
their  wings  and  are  still.     The  moisture  thus 


104     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

gathered  and  thus  deposited  forms  the  thousand 

currents  of  water  that  descend  from  the  heights 

at  the  easternmost  end  of  the  continent,  and 

convert   themselves  into  the  largest  and  most 

imposing  water  systems  in   the  world.     Thus 

is  formed  the  Orinoco  system,  which  irrigates 

the    vast   plains  of   Colombia  and    Venezuela. 

Further  south,  created  by  a  similar  concurrence 

of  circumstances  and  conditions,   the  Amazon 

system  drags  the  volume  of  its  wandering  sea 

across  long,  interminable  leagues  of  Brazilian 

forest  and    plain.      Its   many  streams  start    in 

their  pilgrimage  from  the  interior  of  Colombia, 

of  Ecuador,  of  Peru,  and  of  Bolivia,  and  these 

two  systems  of  water-ways,  which  intersect  such 

an  immense  extent  of  land  thousands  of  miles 

from  the  mouth  of  the  main  artery  that  plunges 

into  the  sea,  are  connected  by  a  natural  canal, 

the  Casiquiare  River,  so  that  the  traveller  might 

enter  either  river,  follow  its  course  deep  into 

the  heart  of  the  continent,  cross  by  water  to 

the  other,   and    then    reappear  on    the   ocean, 

always  in  the  same  boat. 

'  If  the  wealth  of  the  mountains  is  boundless 
and  virgin,  if  on  the  slopes  and  on  the  plateaus 
and   the  neighbouring  valleys  all  the  agricul- 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     105 

tural  products  useful  to  man  may  be  grown — 
and  the  forests  teem  with  wealth  that  belongs 
to  him  who  first  takes  it — if  the  rocks  likewise 
cover  or  bear  immense  deposits  of  all  the 
metals  and  minerals  useful  to  man,  the  low- 
lands and  the  plains  offer  grazing-ground  for 
untold  herds  of  cattle  and  horses,  and  further 
to  the  south  beyond  the  Amazon,  running 
southward,  not  eastward  like  the  Orinoco  and 
the  Amazon,  the  Parana  unrolls  its  waves, 
which,  after  leaving  the  tropic,  enter  the 
southern  temperate  zone,  irrigating  for  untold 
miles  the  endless  pampas  of  Argentina  and 
Uruguay.  In  very  truth,  this  continent  is  the 
Promised  Land. 

'  In  your  pilgrimage  along  the  waters  of  the 
Orinoco,  you  will  see  all  the  wonders  of  tropical 
Nature.  Now  the  forests  will  stand  on  either 
bank  close  along  the  shores  in  serried  file,  and 
moving  mirrors  of  the  waters  will  reflect  the 
murmuring  tops  of  the  trees,  noisy  and  full  of 
life  as  the  winds  sweep  by  in  their  flight,  or 
else  the  frowning  rock,  bare  and  rugged,  will 
stand  forth  from  the  current  like  the  wall  of  a 
medieval  castle.  Now  the  trees  will  open  a 
gap  through  which,  as  from  under  a  triumphal 


io6    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

arch,  the  current  of  a  river,  a  wanderer  from 
the  mysterious  and  unknown  depths  of  the 
neighbouring  forests,  pours  forth  into  the  main 
stream  and  mingles  with  the  passing  waters, 
joining  his  fate  to  theirs,  even  as  the  High 
Priest  of  some  unknown  creed  might  issue 
from  the  temple  and  mingle  with  the  passing 
crowd.  Some  rivers  that  reach  the  main  artery- 
have  had  but  a  short  pilgrimage,  the  junction 
of  their  many  waters  having  taken  place  at  no 
great  distance  from  the  main  stream ;  others 
have  had  a  long  wandering,  sometimes  placid 
and  serene,  sometimes  amidst  rocks  and 
boulders,  with  an  ever  frenzied  and  agitated 
course  like  the  lives  of  men  striving  and 
struggling  till  the  last  great  trumpet  sounds. 
The  course  of  the  river  will  be  studded  with 
islands  large  enough  for  the  foundation  of 
empires,  and  before  reaching  the  sea  the  river 
will  extend  and  spread  its  current  into  a 
thousand  streams,  as  if  loth  to  part  from  the 
Mother  Earth  it  sought  to  embrace  more  firmly 
in  its  grasp,  and  our  waters  will  flow  into  the 
unplumbed  deep,  there  to  mingle  with  those  of 
all  the  rivers,  whether  their  course  has  been 
through  lands  alive  with  civilization,  swarming 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     107 

with  multitudes  of  men  on  their  shores,  laden 
with  the  memories  of  centuries  and  famous  in 
history,  or  whether  they,  like  us,  have  wandered 
through  vast  solitudes  where  Nature  is  still 
supreme  in  her  primeval  pride,  as  yet  un- 
polluted by  the  hand  of  man.  There  we  all 
meet,  and  to  us  what  men  call  time  and  its 
divisions  exist  not,  for  all  the  transformations 
that  affect  mankind  are  as  naught  to  us  who 
form  part  and  parcel  of  Nature  itself,  who  only 
feel  time  after  the  lapse  of  aeons  which  to  the 
mind  of  man  are  practically  incomprehensible. 
Seek  to  learn  the  lesson  of  humility,  to  acknow- 
ledge the  power  of  the  Creator,  who  gave  to 
man  what  we  rivers  and  all  other  material 
things  can  never  hope  for — a  future  beyond 
this  earth,  higher,  brighter,  infinite,  eternal.' 

The  figure  seemed  to  sink  slowly  under  the 
mantle  of  waters  that  had  covered  its  shoulders  ; 
the  sun  was  rising-  in  the  eastern  horizon,  the 
rumour  of  awakening  Nature  filled  the  air 
with  its  thousand  echoes,  and  drifting  rapidly 
towards  us  we  saw  Leal  with  the  canoe  that 
had  remained  behind  the  night  before. 

On  telling  Alex,  Raoul,  and  Fermin  my 
experience,  and  asking  in  good  faith  what  they 


io8    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

had  thought  of  the  visitation,  they  looked 
askance  at  me.  It  seems  that  sleep  had  over- 
powered them  ;  they  had  not  seen  the  river- 
god  of  the  Meta,  and  irreverently  set  down  the 
whole  occurrence  to  the  quality  of  my  supper 
the  preceding  night.  It  is  ever  thus  with 
unbelievers  ;  they  will  seek  some  material  or 
vulgar  explanation  for  that  which  they  cannot 
understand  and  have  not  seen. 

That  very  morning,  after  the  necessary 
arrangements  and  the  usual  morning  coffee, 
we  started  down  the  Meta  River.  If  we  might 
have  called  the  navigation  on  the  Tua  some- 
what amphibious,  navigation  on  the  Meta, 
specially  for  such  small  craft  as  we  possessed, 
seemed  to  us  as  on  the  open  sea.  Our  first 
care  was  to  seek  larger  canoes.  Leal  guided 
us  through  one  of  the  neighbouring  caiios  to 
a  cattle-ranch,  where  he  expected  to  suit  our 
requirements.  This  caiio  chanced  to  be  famous 
for  its  snakes,  principally  of  the  kind  called 
macaurel,  a  dark  brownish  species,  varying 
from  2  to  4  and  5  feet  in  length,  and  from 
^  inch  to  2  inches  in  diameter.  When  in  re- 
pose they  coil  themselves  around  the  branches 
of  the  trees,  and  their  bite,   if  not  cured  im- 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     109 

mediately,  is  fatal.  Leal  shot  one  of  the 
horrible  reptiles  in  the  body ;  the  linking  of 
the  rings  that  take  the  place  of  vertebrae  being 
thus  unloosened,  the  coils  became  wider,  the 
animal  lost  its  grip  and  fell  into  the  water, 
staining  it  with  a  blue-greenish  reflection  of  a 
metallic  hue.  It  seems  that  one  shot  of  the 
smallest  size  is  sufficient  to  kill  these  snakes, 
provided  it  breaks  one  of  the  rings  above 
mentioned.  I  shuddered  as  we  passed  under 
the  trees,  knowing  that  many  of  these  dreaded 
reptiles  must  be  above  our  heads.  The  caflo 
in  some  parts  was  so  narrow  and  the  forest  so 
dense  that  it  was  impossible  to  avoid  the  over- 
hanging branches,  and  when  I  thought  that  we 
should  have  to  go  over  the  same  route  next 
day,  disgust  and  a  feeling  of  dread  took  pos- 
session of  me.  By  the  time  we  reached  our 
destination,  after  a  journey  of  eight  or  ten 
miles,  over  twenty  of  these  creatures  had  been 
brought  down.  We  obtained  two  large  canoes, 
which  seemed  to  us  like  veritable  ships  or 
floating  palaces  compared  to  the  little  craft  we 
had  used  for  so  many  days.  We  turned  to  the 
river  Meta,  and  did  not  feel  safe  until  we  had 
left  the  caiio  behind,  and  could   breathe  once 


no    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

more  in  the  open  air  on  the  bosom  of  the  large 
river,  with  only  heaven  above  our  heads. 

The  Meta  River,  which  flows  entirely  upon 
Colombian  territory,  describes  large  winding 
curves  in  its  course  eastward  towards  the 
Orinoco.  Its  banks  are  high  and  well  defined, 
its  channel  fairly  steadfast  even  in  the  dry 
season.  This  is  not  common,  most  of  these 
rivers  often  shifting  their  course,  to  the  despair 
of  pilots  and  navigators.  Both  sides  of  the 
Meta  we  knew  were  occupied,  or,  rather,  fre- 
quently visited,  by  various  wild  tribes.  Now 
and  then  Leal  would  point  out  a  part  of  the 
shore,  stating  that  it  belonged  to  some  ranch, 
but  how  he  could  know  was  a  mystery  to  us, 
as  no  visible  difference  existed. 

The  temperature,  though  quite  hot  in  the 
middle  of  the  day,  was  agreeable,  and  even 
cool,  in  the  early  morning  and  a  greater  part 
of  the  night.  The  trade-wind,  which  blows 
steadily  every  day  during  the  dry  season,  at 
times  orathered  such  force  that  we  were  com- 
pelled,  going  against  it  as  we  did,  to  wait  long 
hours  for  it  to  subside.  Our  canoes  were  not 
so  arranged  as  to  enable  us  to  hoist  sail  and 
tack  against  the  wind. 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     iii 

On  the  river  Meta  we  observed  a  large 
species  of  fish,  which,  had  we  been  at  sea,  we 
should  have  identified  at  once  as  porpoises. 
The  men  told  us  that  they  were  called  dufeos, 
and  in  reality  came  from  the  sea,  having 
ascended  the  waters  of  the  Orinoco  for 
thousands  of  miles,  and  branched  off  into  the 
Meta  River.  One  of  the  men,  illiterate  like  all 
his  fellows,  but  versed  in  forest,  mountain  and 
plain  lore,  stated  that  those  bufeos  were  the 
friends  of  man  ;  that  they  loved  music  and  song  ; 
that  they  would  follow  a  boat  or  canoe  whence 
the  echoes  of  singing  or  of  some  musical  instru- 
ment could  be  heard  for  miles  and  miles  at  a  time ; 
that  when  they  were  present  in  the  water  the 
alligators  and  all  the  other  enemies  of  man 
kept  away,  or  were  driven  away  by  the  bitfeos; 
and  that  whenever  by  chance  the  fishermen 
caught  one  of  these,  he  would  at  once  release 
it  in  remembrance  of  their  friendship  for  man- 
kind. These  were,  therefore,  our  old-time 
friends  the  porpoises. 

The  simple  tale  of  the  man,  one  of  our 
paddlers,  who  had  never  been  in  a  city  in 
his  life  nor  seen  any  of  the  wonders  of  our 
times,  to  whose  mind  such  words  as  civilization, 


112     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

Fatherland,  and  religion,  as  well  as  many  others 
that  form  the  glib  vocabulary  of  modern  man, 
were  mere  empty  sounds  or  air,  could  not  but 
set  me  a-thinking — first,  as  to  the  value  of  those 
words.  Fatherland,  our  country,  his  and  mine, 
yet  how  different  the  conception,  and  how 
those  consecrated,  holy  words  are  abused  by 
the  tricksters,  great  and  small,  who  control 
and  exploit  mankind  for  their  own  benefit ! 
Patriotism  should  consist  in  justice  and  equality 
of  rights  and  tolerance  to  all,  whereas,  in  fact, 
it  is  but  a  mask  for  the  greed  and  avarice 
of  the  strong.  My  countryman  is  he  whose 
ideals  are  identical  with  mine.  What  makes 
another  being  my  fellow-man  and  my  brother 
is  an  identity  of  ideals,  not  a  concurrence  of 
geographical  conditions  of  birth.  If  he  who 
is  born  ten  thousand  miles  away  in  an  unknown 
climate  and  in  a  different  latitude  shares  with 
me  the  love  of  justice  and  of  freedom,  and  will 
struggle  for  them  even  as  I  would,  why  should 
we  be  separated  by  conventional  distinctions 
which  benefit  neither  him  nor  me  nor  justice 
nor  freedom  as  ideals  ? 

I    thought,    are    these    lands   and    this   vast 
continent  still  virgin  in  the  sense  that  humanity 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     113 

has  not  exploited  them  ?  are  they  to  be  the  last 
scene  of  the  stale  criminal  imposture  now  called 
civilization  ?  Are  men  to  come  by  thousands 
and  by  millions  to  these  plains  and  these  moun- 
tains, and  settle  on  the  shores  of  these  rivers, 
bringing  with  them  their  old  prejudices,  their 
old  tyrannical  conventionalities,  the  hatreds  that 
have  stained  history  with  blood  for  hundreds 
and  for  thousands  of  years,  rearing  on  these 
new  lands  the  old  iniquities,  calling  them 
fatherlands,  baptizing  their  crimes  with  holy 
words,  and  murdering  in  the  name  of 
patriotism  ?  If  such  is  to  be  the  future  of 
these  lands,  far  better  were  it  that  the  mighty 
rivers  should  overflow  their  course  and  convert 
into  one  immense  lake,  twin  brother  of  the 
neighbouring  sea,  the  vast  plains,  the  endless 
mysterious  forest ;  and  that  the  immense 
bulwark  of  the  Andes,  aflame  with  a  thou- 
sand volcanoes,  should  make  the  region  in- 
hospitable and  uninhabitable  to  man :  for  of 
iniquity  there  is  enough,  and  no  more  should 
be  created  under  God's  heaven. 

But  the  tale  set  me  also  a-thinking  of  the 
power  of  tradition  and  the  beauty  of  song.  If 
my  memory  plays   me  no  trick,  Arion,  home- 

8 


114    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

ward-bound   from   the    Court   of  Corinth,   and 
laden   with    gifts  of  a   King  who   worshipped 
song,  was  seized  and  thrown  into  the  sea  by 
the  crew,   but    the    listening   dolphins   or    por- 
poises, grateful  for  the  heavenly  message  thus 
delivered  by  him,  bore  him  ashore  and  saved 
his  life.     So,  more  or  less,  runs  the  classical 
tale ;  and  here  in  the  wilds  of  America,  from 
the  lips  of  an  unlettered  woodman,  the  same 
beautiful  conceit,  clothed  in  simple  words,  had 
rung    in    my   ears.     The   power   of  song,    the 
beauty  of  the  legend,  had  filtered  itself  through 
hundreds  of  generations  from  the  days  of  our 
mother  Greece,  the  mother  of  art  and  of  beauty, 
across  the  mountains  and  the  years  and  the  seas 
and   the  continents,    and    the    legend  and    the 
allegory  were  alive  in  their  pristine  and  essen- 
tial   characteristics    in    the    forests    of    tropical 
America.     This  gave  me  hope.     If  the  power 
of  things  ideal,  of  things  that  have  in  them  the 
divine  charm  of  undying  force,  overcomes  time 
and    distance,    why   should    not    the    ideal    of 
righteousness,  of  liberty,  and  of  justice  prevail.-^ 
And  the  vast  continent  of  South  America,  why 
should   it   not    be   the   predestined   home  of  a 
happy  and  regenerate  humanity  ?     The  trade- 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     115 

winds  which  come  from  the  old  world  and 
across  the  ocean  are  purified  on  the  heights 
of  the  Cordilleras.  Even  so  humanity  in  that 
pilgrimage  that  is  bound  to  take  place  ere 
long,  as  the  ancient  world  begins  to  overflow, 
may  regenerate  itself  and  establish  liberty  and 
justice  in  that  new  world.  If  these  be  dreams, 
awakening  were  bitter. 

We  soon  heard  that  it  was  easy  to  reach  one 
of  the  affluents  of  the  Vichada  by  crossing  the 
plains  for  about  a  mile  overland,  and,  all  things 
considered,  decided  to  abandon  the  Meta  River, 
even  though  the  journey  might  be  longer  than 
we  had  at  first  intended.  Thus,  on  the  fourth 
day  of  navigation  down  the  Meta  we  stopped, 
and  at  a  place  known  as  San  Pedro  del  Arras- 
tradero,  where  we  found  quite  a  large  settle- 
ment, about  150  people,  we  left  the  Meta 
behind  us  and  at  once  made  ready  for  our 
journey  through  the  Vichada,  as  large  as  the 
Meta,  we  were  told,  and  inhabited  by  numerous 
savage  tribes.  This  gave  additional  interest  to 
the  journey,  and  we  looked  forward  to  it  with 
pleasure. 


CHAPTER  X 

The  settlement  of  San  Pedro  del  Arrastradero 
— or  of  Arimena,  as  it  is  also  called — lies  on  the 
right  shore  of  the  River  Meta  about  150 
miles  from  its  confluence  with  the  Orinoco. 
Within  a  very  short  distance  of  the  Meta  at 
that  point,  less  than  a  mile  to  the  south,  the 
cano  of  Caracarate  branches  towards  the  Muco 
River,  which,  flowing  to  the  south-east,  joins  the 
Vichada  ;  the  latter,  of  about  the  same  volume 
as  the  Meta,  flows  south-east  till  it  strikes  the 
Orinoco  above  the  rapids.  The  Meta  and  the 
Vichada  and  the  Orinoco  form  a  triangle,  of 
which  the  last  named  is  the  base.  The  Vichada 
enters  the  main  stream  some  fifty  miles  above, 
and  the  Meta  about  200  miles  below,  the 
series  of  rapids  which  divide  the  river  into 
the  Lower  and  the  Upper  Orinoco. 

Scattered    far    and   wide   at   long    distances 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     117 

apart  on  the  plain  which  borders  the  Meta  are 
numerous  cattle-ranches,  and  on  its  very  shores 
are  settlements  testifying  to  the  effort  of  civil- 
ized man.  But  the  new  region  that  we  were 
about  to  enter,  irrigated  by  the  Muco,  the 
Vichada,  and  their  affluents,  is  absolutely  wild, 
and  has  seldom  been  crossed  by  white  men 
other  than  stray  missionaries,  or  adventurous 
traders  in  search  of  cheap  rubber,  resinous 
substances,  tonga  beans,  hammocks,  etc.  These 
the  Indians  exchange  for  trifles,  or  implements 
which  they  prize  very  highly  :  to  the  wild 
inhabitants  an  axe,  a  cutlass,  a  knife,  are 
veritable  treasures,  distinguishing  their  owner 
among  his  fellows. 

The  tribes  along  the  shores  of  the  Meta  River 
were  known  to  be  mostly  hostile  and  aggressive. 
Travellers  on  that  river  always,  if  possible, 
pitch  their  camps  on  islets  in  mid-stream  for 
fear  of  night  attacks,  and  even  then  they  need 
to  keep  strict  watch  and  have  their  arms  beside 
them.  It  is  dangerous  for  small  expeditions  to 
cross  the  part  of  the  river  below  San  Pedro  del 
Arrastradero. 

But  the  tribes  along  the  region  that  we  were 
about  to  cross,  though  no  less  primitive  than 


ii8    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

the  others,  are  mild  and  easily  amenable  to 
civilization.  They  are  numerous,  and  under 
good  guidance  might  be  advantageously  em- 
ployed in  useful  work,  might  be  taught  to 
gather  the  natural  products  abounding  in  the 
forests,  and  cultivate  the  soil  systematically. 
Their  present  notions  of  agriculture  are 
elementary  ;  they  only  practise  it  on  a  very 
small  scale,  relying  principally  on  what  they 
can  hunt  and  fish. 

At  San  Pedro  we  found  an  individual  who 
for  over  thirty  years  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
travelling  on  the  Muco  and  the  Vichada,  often 
going  as  far  as  Ciudad  Bolivar,  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Orinoco.  He  had  amassed  a  little 
fortune  by  trading  with  the  Indians.  He  spoke 
their  dialect,  and  practised  polygamy  in  accord- 
ance with  their  unsophisticated  rites  and 
customs.  It  was  said  that  he  had  a  great 
number  of  children  along  the  shores  of  the 
river ;  he  could  therefore  recommend  us  to  his 
family,  so  to  speak.  His  name  was  Gondelles. 
He  had  often  accompanied  the  missionaries 
who  had  attempted  to  preach  the  Gospel  among 
the  savages,  and,  unless  Rumour  was  a  lying 
jade,  he  had  himself  strenuously  endeavoured 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     119 

to  observe  that  Divine  precept  which  refers  to 
increasing  and  multiplying  the  human  species ! 

The  Indians  of  this  region  are  specially 
expert  in  weaving  beautiful  hammocks  from 
fibres  of  the  various  kinds  of  maguey  or  agave 
plants,  or  else  extracted  from  the  leaves  of  the 
moriche.  The  most  prized,  however,  are  those 
made  of  fibre  of  the  cumare  palm,  soft  and 
pliant  as  silk.  A  large  and  comfortable 
hammock  woven  of  this  fibre  will  take  up  the 
smallest  possible  space  and  last  longer  than  any 
other.  These  Indians  are  also  skilled  in  canoe- 
making  ;  with  their  primitive  stone  instruments, 
aided  by  fire,  they  will  make  admirable  canoes 
of  one  piece,  hewn  from  the  trunk  of  a  tree. 
These  canoes  at  times  are  so  large  that  they 
will  seat  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  men  com- 
fortably, but  most  of  them  are  small  craft 
easily  handled,  holding  six  or  eight  persons 
at  most. 

Some  of  the  men  who  had  accompanied  us 
thus  far  now  refused  to  continue  the  journey. 
We  were  informed  that  it  would  be  com- 
paratively easy  to  replace  them  with  Indians 
who  would  accompany  us  for  four  or  five  days 
at  a  trifling  wage.    The  tribes  being  numerous, 


I20     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

it  would  not  be  difficult  to  find  new  hands  at 
each  stage. 

The  wage  of  our  new  canoe  men  was  always 
paid  in  kind :  a  handkerchief,  a  pound  of 
salt,  an  empty  bottle,  a  strip  of  gaudy  silk — 
we  had  still  some  London  cravats — were  the 
most  coveted  articles.  The  idea  of  equity  and 
work  done  for  value  received  does  not  exist 
amongst  the  Indians.  We  soon  found  that 
it  was  folly  to  give  them  the  article  agreed 
upon  until  the  work  was  done  ;  for  once  the 
men  had  received  what  they  coveted,  they  would 
abandon  us,  stealthily  leaving  the  camp  in  the 
dusk  at  the  first  landing,  and  sometimes  even 
rushing  into  the  jungle  in  broad  daylight. 

So  now  with  a  full  crew,  now  crippled,  we 
managed  to  continue  the  journey,  first  for  six 
days  on  the  Muco,  and  then  on  the  Vichada, 
the  navigation  of  which  proved  to  be  much 
longer  than  we  had  expected. 

The  general  aspect  of  Nature  on  these  two 
rivers  differed  very  little  from  what  we  had 
seen  on  the  Meta.  The  shores  of  the  Muco 
are  generally  covered  with  mangroves  that 
push  far  into  the  current  their  submerged  net- 
work of  roots  and  branches,  of  which  one  must 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     121 

steer  clear,  as  they  are  hiding-places  for  snakes, 
and  are  apt,  if  struck  unexpectedly,  to  capsize 
the  canoes.  These  beautiful  clear  waters,  so 
harmless,  so  placid,  in  appearance,  are  in  truth 
full  of  danger.  Apart  from  alligators  and  water 
snakes,  they  abound  in  a  species  of  small  fish 
called  caribe,  which  attack  men  and  animals, 
especially  if  they  find  a  sore  spot  in  the  skin. 
They  swarm  in  such  quantities  and  are  so 
voracious  that  a  bull  or  a  horse  crossing  the 
river,  if  attacked  by  these  fish,  may  lose  a  leg, 
or  receive  such  a  deep  wound  in  the  body  that 
death  is  inevitable.  No  less  perilous  is  the 
electric  eel,  which,  on  being  touched,  gives 
a  shock  so  strong  that  the  man  or  animal  re- 
ceiving it  generally  falls  into  the  stream.  Even 
tigers  are  known  to  have  been  struck  by  these 
peculiar  fish,  and  it  is  said  that  some  have  been 
drowned,  being  unable  to  recover  themselves 
in  time. 

During  the  month  of  January  the  turtles 
begin  to  lay  their  eggs.  Our  attention  was 
called  to  a  specially  bright  star  in  the  horizon, 
which  the  men  asserted  only  appeared  in  that 
month  of  the  year.  It  was  called  the  star  of 
the  terecayes.     The  terecay  is  a  small  species  of 


122     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

turtle,  and  much  prized,  and  with  reason,  on 
account  of  its  exquisite  flesh.  On  more  than 
one  occasion,  quite  unexpectedly,  the  canoes 
would  be  steered  ashore,  the  men  would  jump 
on  the  sand  and  run  as  if  guided  by  some  well- 
known  landmark.  After  a  few  yards  they  would 
stop,  and,  digging  in  the  sand  with  their  hands, 
would  extract  a  nest  full  of  terecay  eggs,  the 
contents  varying  from  fifty  to  over  a  hundred. 
Their  experienced  eyes  had  seen  the  tracks  of 
the  terecay  on  the  sand.  These  turtles,  like  all 
others,  lay  their  eggs  once  a  year  on  the  sand, 
and  cover  them  up  carefully,  leaving  the  cares 
of  motherhood  to  the  forces  of  Nature.  Once 
hatched  in  this  fashion,  the  young  turtles  must 
shift  for  themselves,  and  their  instinct  tells 
them  that  their  numerous  enemies  lie  in  watch 
for  their  awakening  to  active  life.  The  moment 
they  break  the  shell  they  make  as  quickly  as 
they  can  for  the  neighbouring  waters,  where 
they  are  comparatively  safe. 

If  the  inhabitants  of  those  regions  lack  book- 
learning  and  knowledge  of  things  in  which 
their  more  civilized  fellow-creatures  are  versed, 
Nature  and  the  life  which  they  lead  have  given 
them   a  keenness  of  sight,  of  hearing,  and  of 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     123 

touch  far  beyond  the  average  citizen  of  town 
and  village.  I  often  noticed  of  an  evening,  as 
the  canoes  were  being  tied  and  hoisted  halfway- 
out  of  the  water,  that  the  men  walking  along 
the  beach  would  mutter  to  themselves,  or  call 
the  attention  of  their  fellows  to  the  sand,  which 
to  me  seemed  smooth  and  uniform.  Pointing 
to  the  ground,  they  would  say,  duck,  turtle, 
tapir,  alligator,  wild-boar,  deer,  tiger,  and  so 
forth.  The  tracks  which  they  saw  were,  so  to 
speak,  the  visiting-cards  of  animals  which  had 
spent  the  day  on  the  beach  where  our  camp 
was  pitched  at  night. 

When  we  first  came  in  contact  with  a  real 
wild  Indian  I  experienced  a  feeling  very  difficult 
to  describe. 

Here  was  a  being  whose  appearance  was 
identical  with  our  own,  save  for  details  of  colour 
of  skin  and  other  trivial  distinctions  which 
could  not  affect  the  essential  organic  elements ; 
yet  he  awakened  within  us  a  curiosity  akin  to 
that  with  which  we  gaze  at  a  wild  animal  in 
some  zoological  garden.  What  a  deep  gulf 
yawned  between  that  forlorn  brother  and  our- 
selves !  The  work  of  generations,  the  treasures 
heaped  up  by  man  for  man  during  centuries  of 


124    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

struggle  and  endeavour,  hopes  and  fears,  disap- 
pointments, traditions,  ideals,  conventionalities, 
all  that  constitutes  civilization  ;  the  higher 
belief  in  a  Supreme  Being,  the  evolution  of 
habits,  the  respect  for  established  laws  and 
regulations,  the  reverence  for  sacred  things — 
all  that  world  essential  to  us  was  as  naught, 
absolutely  non-existent,  for  that  naked  fellow- 
creature  who  stood  before  us,  unprotected,  lost 
amid  the  forest  in  a  climate  unfavourable  to 
man.  There  was  no  one  to  help  him,  or  make 
any  effort  to  improve  the  natural  forces  within 
him,  none  to  lift  his  soul  into  a  higher  and 
better  world.  Curiosity  gave  way  to  pity. 
The  labour  of  the  missionary — of  the  ideal 
missionary — became  holier  and  greater  in  my 
eyes.  Here  was  a  field  of  promising  harvest 
for  a  real  worker. 

One  clear  and  fragrant  night,  when  all  the 
camp  slept,  the  bonfires  half  out,  the  river  a  few 
feet  off,  as  I  lay  awake  thinking  of  the  world  to 
which  we  belonged,  so  different  from  our  present 
surroundings,  so  distant  that  it  seemed  a  far-off 
cloud  in  the  sky,  something  that  had  gone  by, 
and  which  could  never  be  reached  again,  I 
suddenly  remembered  the  words  uttered  by  one 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     125 

of  our  men  when  we  landed  that  afternoon  upon 
the  beach.  He  had  clearly  enumerated  a  lonor 
list  of  animals  whose  tracks  were  upon  the  very 
sand  covered  by  my  body.  Logic  took  posses- 
sion of  my  brain  with  overpowering  rapidity. 
The  alligator,  the  tiger,  and  their  numerous 
companions  have  visited  this  beach  ;  they  may 
again  visit  it  during  the  night.  What  is  to 
hinder  them  from  doing  so ;  and  in  that  case, 
what  is  to  protect  me  from  their  attack  ?  Little 
did  I  care  for  the  wild-boar,  the  tapir,  or  the 
deer — I  knew  they  would  be  as  scared  of  me  as 
I  was  of  the  other  animals  ;  and  so,  after  this 
attack  of  fright,  my  imagination  worked  till  the 
sweat  began  to  run  clammy  on  my  forehead. 
It  seemed  to  me  that  from  the  neiofhbourinof 
forest  a  veritable  Noah's-ark  of  living,  rushing, 
roaring,  famished  beasts,  multiplied  by  my 
fancy,  and  numerous  as  the  progeny  of 
Gondelles,  came  upon  us.  I  almost  felt  the 
hot  breath  and  saw  the  glistening  eyes  of  the 
tiger  outside  the  thin  partition  of  cotton  of  my 
mosquito-bar,  heard  the  awkward  shamble  of 
the  alligator's  body,  and  felt  the  unpleasant, 
musky  odour  of  the  huge  lizard  an  instant 
before  it  crushed  my  bones  between  its  jaws. 


126    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

Unable  to  master  myself,  I  sat  upright,  and 
would  have  yelled  from  dread  but  for  the 
spectacle  that  met  my  eyes  in  the  moonlight, 
flooding  the  surrounding  scene.  There  to  right 
and  left  of  me  snored  all  my  companions  ;  the 
river  shone  brilliantly,  the  breeze  blew  softly, 
no  one  stirred.  This  absence  of  fear  on  the 
part  of  those  who  were  perfectly  familiar  with 
all  the  dangers  of  the  region  reassured  me 
completely.  Oh  blessed  snores  and  valiant 
snorers !  My  peace  of  mind  returned,  and, 
lying  back  upon  my  sandy  couch,  I  lustily 
joined  the  tuneful  choir. 

Community  of  danger  constitutes  the  most 
acceptable  guarantee  ;  no  man  ever  thinks  of 
ascertaining  who  drives  the  locomotive  that  is 
to  whirl  him  and  hundreds  of  his  fellow-crea- 
tures at  lightning  speed  through  glade  and 
forest,  over  bridge  and  under  tunnel  ;  no  man 
questions  the  capability  of  the  captain  respon- 
sible for  the  steamship  and  for  the  lives  of 
thousands  of  his  fellow-men  ;  the  most  dis- 
trustful of  us  never  gives  a  thought  to  these 
points.  Why  ?  Because  we  know  that  the 
driver  or  the  captain,  as  the  case  may  be, 
stakes  his  own  life.      Each   humble   boatman 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     127 

who  listened  to  Caesar's  proud  assurance  that 
the  skiff  could  not  sink  because  it  carried  him 
and  all  his  fortunes  equalled  Caesar  in  self- 
esteem,  for  the  lives  of  those  poor  mariners  were 
as  dear  to  them  as  Caesar's  life  could  be  to  him. 
The  truth  of  my  assertion  that  community  of 
danger  constitutes  the  acceptability  of  a  given 
guarantee  is  demonstrated  when,  for  instance, 
a  traveller  entrusting  his  life  on  a  railway  or  a 
ship  to  the  agent  of  a  company  advances  or 
lends  money  to  the  same  company.  Then 
comes  the  hour  of  discrimination.  All  the 
appliances  invented  by  that  most  wonderful 
engine  of  human  ingenuity,  the  law  of  com- 
merce, which  in  its  numerous  forms  rules  the 
world  paramount  and  supreme,  are  brought  to 
bear.  No  one's  word  is  accepted  as  suffi- 
cient ;  documents,  signatures,  seals,  formalities, 
numerous  and  complicated,  are  employed  as  a 
delicate  proof  of  the  trust  that  the  man  of  the 
world  ever  places  in  the  good  faith  of  his 
brother  before  God.  This  suspicion  is  respon- 
sible for  an  enormous  amount  of  expense  and 
trouble  which,  were  good  faith  more  abundant 
or  were  belief  in  its  existence  general,  might 
be  applied  to  relieve  misery  and  sorrow.     If 


128    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

the  action  of  humanity  all  the  world  over  in 
this  dreary  endeavour  to  protect  man  from  the 
rascality  of  man  be  justified,  we  are,  indeed, 
not  very  far  removed  in  truth  and  in  essence 
from  the  savages  of  the  forest,  who  seize  what 
they  need  and  prey  upon  each  other  according 
to  the  dictates  of  nature.  If  beauty  be  but 
skin-deep,  civilization  is  not  more  profoundly 
ingrained,  and  the  smallest  rub  reveals  the 
primitive  ravening  beast.  Yet  I  may  be  mis- 
taken ;  perhaps  it  is  not  distrust  which  begets 
all  those  precautions,  but  something  so  noble 
that  I  dare  not  presume  to  divine,  much  less 
to  understand,  it. 


CHAPTER   XI 

Though  several  years  have  elapsed  since  my 
journey  across  those  wild  vast  regions,  the 
remembrance  of  them  is  most  vivid  and  clear 
in  my  mind.  It  seems  to  me  that  everything 
in  that  period  of  my  life,  landscape  and  human 
beings,  forest  and  plain,  stream  and  cloud, 
mountains  and  breezes,  all,  all  are  still  alive  ; 
they  form  part  of  the  panorama  or  scene  wherein 
my  memory  keeps  them  immortal,  abiding  for 
ever  as  I  saw  them,  though  unattainable  to  me. 
What  was,  is  ;  what  was,  must  be;  so  I  imagine. 
Memory  is  in  this  respect  like  the  artist.  The 
sculptor  or  the  painter  seizes  one  moment  of 
life,  fashions  and  records  it  in  marble  or  in 
bronze,  in  line  or  colour,  and  there  it  remains 
defying  time,  unchanging  and  unchangeable. 
The  gallery  of  the  mind,  the  vast  storehouse 
of  the  past,  is  infinite.      It  keeps  in  its  inmost 

9 


I30     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

inexhaustible  recesses  the  living  record  of  our 
life,  the  tremulous  shadowy  hues  of  early  night 
deepening  into  the  dark,  the  glory  of  the 
rising  sun  casting  its  veil  of  light  upon  the 
waves,  the  sensation  of  the  breeze  as  it  fans 
our  heated  brow  after  an  anxious  night,  the 
thunder  of  the  ocean  or  the  deafening  tumult 
of  frenzied  crowds  in  hours  of  national  misfor- 
tune or  universal  anger,  the  last  parting  word 
or  look  of  those  who  are  gone  before,  the  blithe 
greeting  of  him  who  comes  back  to  us  after 
years  of  absence  and  of  sorrow  :  all  these 
manifestations  of  life,  the  ebb  and  flow  of  joy 
and  happiness,  of  pain  and  grief,  stand  indi- 
vidualized, so  to  speak,  in  the  memory,  and 
nothing,  save  the  loss  of  memory  itself,  can 
change  them.  Nothing  so  dear  to  the  heart 
as  those  treasures  ;  against  them  time  and  the 
vicissitudes  of  life  are  powerless — even  as  the 
lovers  and  the  dancers  and  the  singers  and 
the  enchanted  leafy  forest  in  Keats'  '  Grecian 
Urn,'  That  love  will  know  no  disappointment. 
Sweet  as  songs  heard  may  be,  far  sweeter  are 
those  unheard  of  human  ear ;  beautiful  as  are 
the  green  boughs  of  the  forest,  far  lovelier 
are  those  whose  verdure  is  imperishable,  whose 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     131 

leaves  will  know  no  autumn  ;  and  sweeter  than 
all  melody,  the  unheard  melody  of  those  flutes, 
dumb  and  mute  in  the  infinite  harmony  which 
man  can  imagine,  but  not  create.  Our  own 
mind  keeps  that  record  of  the  past ;  hallowed 
and  sacred  should  it  be,  for  therein  our  sorrow 
may  find  relief,  and  our  joy  purity  and  new 
strength. 

Beautiful  indeed  were  our  days.  Gliding 
softly  over  the  waters,  we  would  read,  and 
there,  in  forced  and  intimate  communion  with 
Nature,  would  seek  our  old-time  friends  the 
historians,  the  poets,  the  humbler  singers  that 
had  charmed,  or  instructed,  or  taught  us  how 
to  live.  The  lessons  of  history  seemed  clearer 
and  more  intelligible,  the  puissant  and  sonorous 
voice  of  poetry  sounded  fitly  under  that  blue 
sky  in  the  midst  of  those  forests,  even  as  the 
notes  of  the  organ  seem  to  vibrate  and  echo 
as  in  their  very  home,  under  the  fretted  vault 
of  some  Gothic  temple.  The  majesty  of  sur- 
rounding Nature  lent  an  additional  charm  to  the 
voice  of  the  great  ones  who  had  delivered  a 
message  of  consolation  and  of  hope  to  mankind. 
We  lived  now  in  Rome,  now  in  Greece,  now 
in   modern   Europe,  and  frequently  the  songs 


132     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

of  our  own  poets  filled  our  minds  with  joy,  as 
the  twitter  of  native  birds  when  the  sun  rose 
and  the  morning  sparkled,  bedewed  with  jewels 
that  night  had  left  on  leaves  and  flowers. 

One  day,  when  we  had  grown  expert  in 
bargaining  with  the  Indians,  shortly  before 
sunset  a  solitary  Indian  paddled  towards  our 
camp.  He  had  been  attracted  by  the  novel 
sight.  We  had  learnt  that  within  the  memory 
of  living  man  no  such  large  convoy  as  ours  had 
passed  through  those  waters  ;  groups  of  eight 
or  ten  men  in  one  canoe  were  the  largest  ever 
seen — at  least,  the  largest  groups  of  strangers. 
Here  was  a  small  army,  with  two  large  canoes 
and  great  abundance  of  strange  and  wonderful 
equipment — boxes,  trunks,  weapons,  cooking 
utensils,  many  men  with  white  faces  and 
marvellous  strange  array  ;  indeed,  enough  to 
attract  the  attention  and  curiosity  of  any  child 
of  the  forest.  The  canoe  upon  which  the 
Indian  stood  was  barely  six  feet  in  length — so 
narrow  and  shallow  that  at  a  distance  he  seemed 
to  stand  on  the  very  mirror  of  the  waters.  He 
carried  a  large  paddle,  shaped  like  a  huge  rose- 
leaf  somewhat  blunted  at  the  end,  and  with  a 
very  long  stem.     He  plunged  this  gracefully  in 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     133 

the  water  on  either  side,  seeming  hardly  to 
bend  or  to  make  any  effort,  and  in  feathering 
there  appeared  a  convex  mirror  of  liquid  glass, 
upon  which  the  sunlight  fell  in  prismatic  hues 
each  time  that  his  paddle  left  the  water.  He 
drew  near,  and  stood  before  us  like  a  bronze 
statue.  He  was  stark  naked,  save  for  a  clout 
round  his  loins.  On  his  brow  was  a  crown  of 
tiger-claws  surmounted  by  two  eagle  feathers. 
Across  his  neck,  hung  by  a  string,  was  a  small 
bag  of  woven  fibre  containing  a  piece  of  salt, 
some  hooks  made  of  bone  and  small  harpoons 
which  could  be  set  on  arrows,  and  two  hollow 
reeds  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  in  diameter 
and  four  or  five  inches  long.  By  means  of 
these  reeds  the  Indians  inhale  through  their 
nostrils  an  intoxicating  powder,  in  which  they 
delight.  The  man  was  young,  powerfully  built, 
about  five  feet  ten  in  height,  and  well  pro- 
portioned ;  his  teeth  glistening  and  regular ;  his 
eyes  black  and  large,  gleaming  like  live  coals  ; 
he  was  a  perfect  incarnation  of  the  primitive 
race,  and  the  hardships  and  exposure  of  his 
past  life  had  left  no  more  trace  on  him  than  the 
flowing  waters  of  the  river  on  the  swan's-down. 
Guided    by   our  civilized    instinct,   which   in 


134     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

these  utilitarian  days  prompts  man  to  seek  in 
whatever  meets  his  eye,  first  and  foremost,  not 
its  beauty  or  the  symbol  which  it  may  repre- 
sent, or  the  tendency  towards  something  higher 
which  it  may  indicate,  but  its  utility,  following 
this  delightful  system  of  our  latest  Christian 
civilization,  I,  in  common  with  my  companions, 
at  once  decided  to  exploit  that  simple  spirit  and 
press  him  into  our  service.  Being  unable  to 
bargain  ourselves — which  was  lucky  for  him, 
for  in  our  enlightened  way  we  should  have 
driven  a  harder  bargain  than  our  men — we 
entrusted  the  task  to  Leal. 

The  Indian,  also  true  to  his  instinct,  im- 
mediately indicated — first  by  signs,  and  then 
by  word  of  mouth,  when  he  saw  he  was  under- 
stood— that  he  craved  a  part  of  the  innumerable 
riches  before  his  eyes.  He  really  did  not  ask 
for  much  ;  he  wanted  some  salt,  a  knife,  a  piece 
of  glass  like  a  small  mirror  that  he  saw  glitter- 
ing in  the  hands  of  one  of  our  men,  and  what- 
ever else  we  might  be  willing  to  give.  He  was 
told  that  he  could  have  all  that  he  asked  and 
more.  He  smiled  broadly,  and  a  light  of  joy 
came  over  his  face.  These  were  signs  truly 
human,   not    yet    trained    into   the  hypocritical 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     135 

conventions  of  well  -  bred  society.  As  he 
stretched  forth  his  hand,  he  was  told  that  the 
gift  was  conditional — that  he  must  earn  the 
articles  he  coveted,  that  we  expected  him  to 
sit  beside  the  other  paddlers  and  help  to  carry 
us  for  two  or  three  days,  whereupon  he  would 
receive  these  rich  gifts  from  our  prodigal 
bounty. 

This  statement  seemed  to  our  Indian  inter- 
locutor absurd,  just  as  something  utterly  in- 
congruous and  ludicrous  in  business  would 
strike  the  mind  of  a  London  banker.  In  his 
primitive  mental  organism  the  idea  that  one 
man  should  work  for  another  was  something 
that  found  no  place.  Those  forests,  rivers,  and 
plains  were  his  home  ;  he  roved  free  and  fear- 
less through  them,  alone  or  in  the  company  of 
others,  each  one  of  whom  provided  for  himself. 
A  bargain — that  basis  of  civilization,  of  culture, 
that  great  agent  of  progress  and  of  human 
development — was  something  which  he  could 
not  understand.  The  essence  of  the  fact,  and 
the  fact  itself,  were  beyond  him.  We  could  see 
the  struggle  between  his  greed  and  his  love  of 
freedom.  The  riches  that  we  offered  him 
tempted  him  far  more  than  glittering  diamonds 


136     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

on  the  counter  of  a  jeweller  tempt  a  vain 
woman  or  a  burglar  at  bay.  Yet  he  overcame 
the  temptation.  The  glad  smile  vanished  ;  his 
face  darkened  with  a  look  that  we  could  interpret 
as  reproach,  and  possibly  contempt ;  he  silently 
lifted  his  paddle,  and  with  two  strokes  sped  his 
canoe  into  mid-stream.  Without  glancing  back- 
wards, giving  now  and  then  a  tremendous 
stroke,  he  disappeared  in  the  distance.  The 
rays  of  the  sinking  sun  reddened  the  waters 
of  the  river  and  the  surrounding  horizon  ;  the 
Indian,  upright  in  his  canoe,  seemed  as  if  clad 
in  a  sheet  of  flame,  and  finally  vanished  as 
though  consumed  in  the  crimson  glow.  The 
sun  itself  in  the  western  horizon  resembled  a 
huge  ball  of  red-hot  iron,  as  if  the  Cyclops  and 
the  Titans,  after  playing,  had  left  it  behind  on 
the  bosom  of  the  endless  plain,  flat  and  still  as 
the  sea  in  a  calm. 


CHAPTER  XII 

The  course  of  the  rivers  on  the  llanos  is  far 
from  being  as  straight  as  the  proverbial  path 
of  righteousness.  They  meander,  wind,  and 
turn  about,  so  that  when  on  a  sharp  curve  one 
often  sails  almost  directly  against  the  main 
direction  of  the  waters.  The  Indians  take 
short  cuts  overland  which  enable  them  to 
travel  much  faster  than  the  canoes.  Thus  the 
news  of  our  coming  preceded  us  by  several 
days,  and  long  before  we  reached  the  mouth 
of  the  Vichada  all  the  tribes  had  heard  that  the 
largest  expedition  known  in  their  history  was 
on  the  way. 

For  reasons  which  he  explained  to  us  after- 
wards. Leal  had,  without  consulting  us,  informed 
the  first  Indians  whom  we  met  that  ours  was 
a  party  of  missionaries.  I  do  not  suppose  that 
he  went  into  any  further  details.     In  the  mind 


138     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

of  the  Indians  the  remembrance  of  missionaries 
seems  to  have  lingered  from  the  days  when 
Jesuit  missions  were  established  on  nearly  all 
the  principal  rivers  of  the  Orinoco  watershed. 
From  the  time  of  the  Independence  there  have 
been  no  regular  missions  following  a  consistent 
plan  and  belonging  to  a  special  organization. 
Now  and  then  desultory  attempts  have  been 
made  without  any  appreciable  results.  But  the 
Indians  respect  the  missionary  ;  possibly  they 
also  fear  him,  and,  as  we  could  observe  later  on 
from  our  own  experience,  they  expect  from  him 
gifts  not  only  of  a  spiritual,  but  of  a  material 
kind. 

The  result  of  all  this  is  that  a  missionary  is 
more  likely  to  be  welcomed  and  assisted  than 
any  other  traveller.  This  was  what  guided 
Leal  in  what  he  considered  a  harmless  assertion 
— a  pious  fraud,  in  which  the  fraud  is  more 
obvious  than  the  piety. 

Be  it  remarked,  however,  that  neither  my 
companions  nor  I  had  the  least  responsibility 
for  Leal's  action.  When  travelling  along  the 
mule-tracks  leading  to  the  plains,  public  opinion, 
or  what  under  the  existing  circumstances  took 
its  place,   had  assigned   to  our  expedition  an 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     139 

episcopal  character.  This  assimilation  to  the 
Church  seemed  to  have  been  our  fate.  Here 
again  we  were  incorporated  in  its  fold  in  an 
official  capacity,  so  to  speak,  without  the  least 
intention  or  effort  on  our  part.  When  we  learnt 
what  Leal  had  done,  it  was  too  late  to  withdraw, 
and  we  resigned  ourselves  to  our  new  eccle- 
siastical honours  with  proper  humility. 

It  is  said  that  men  may  be  great,  some  because 
they  are  born  great,  others  because  they  achieve 
greatness,  and  others  yet  again  because  great- 
ness is  thrust  upon  them.  In  the  present 
instance  the  clerical  character  was  thrust  upon 
us.  We — at  least,  I  can  answer  for  myself — 
tried  to  live  up  to  the  new  dignity,  not  only 
inwardly,  but  outwardly,  assuming,  as  far  as 
circumstances  would  permit,  the  sedate  and 
reverent,  contemplative  demeanour  which  so 
well  suits  him  who  devotes  his  life  to  the 
welfare  of  others,  seeking  to  guide  them  to 
heaven  by  an  easy  path,  no  matter  at  what 
cost  of  personal  sacrifice  or  discomfort  to  him- 
self. 

Strange,  however,  that  this  self-sacrificing 
mood  adopted  in  imitation  of  true  priests,  who 
despise  the  comforts  and  joys  of  life,  should 


I40    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

have  been  assumed  in  our  own  spurious  case 
for  the  special  purpose  of  increasing  those 
worldly  comforts  and  material  joys  ! 

We  soon  discovered,  to  our  amazement,  that 
our  new  position  was  far  from  being  a  sinecure. 

One  day  we  were  waiting  for  the  noon-day 
heat  to  pass,  having  halted  on  a  poyata,  the 
name  given  to  small  beaches  that  seem  to 
stretch  like  a  tongue  of  sand  from  under  the 
very  roots  of  the  forest  into  the  river  ;  we  had 
fled  for  shelter  to  the  coolness  of  the  high 
vaulting  trees,  from  whose  trunks  the  hammocks 
swung  invitingly.  The  blue  heaven  appeared 
like  an  enamelled  background  beyond  the  lace- 
work  of  the  intertwined  leaves  and  branches. 
The  fires  burned  brightly  and  cheerily,  their 
flames  pale  and  discoloured  in  the  bright  glare 
of  the  sun  ;  the  pots  simmered,  and  soon  tempt- 
ing whiffs  were  wafted  by  the  lazy  breeze  that 
hardly  stirred,  welcome  heralds  of  good  things 
to  come.  The  stomach  reigns  supreme  just 
before  and  after  a  meal,  which,  if  it  be  assured 
to  a  hungry  mortal,  constitutes  for  him  the 
most  satisfactory  event  in  the  immediate  future, 
calming  his  anxieties  or  blunting  the  edge  of 
care ;  and  after  it  has  been  eaten,  the  process 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     141 

of  digestion,  which  for  the  moment  monopoHzes 
the  principal  energies  of  the  organism,  seems 
to  cast  a  veil  over  the  unpleasant  aspects  of 
life,  and  to  soften  the  thorns  that  beset  our 
path. 

Some  General  of  the  Confederate  Army  in 
the  United  States,  who  had  retired  to  his  lands 
after  the  final  collapse  of  the  South,  used  to 
remark  that  one  of  the  saddest  things  for  an 
old  man  who  had  been  very  active  in  former 
years  was  to  receive  the  frequent  news  of  the 
death  of  former  comrades  and  companions. 
'  Whenever  such  news  reaches  me,'  he  went 
on  to  say,  '  I  always  order  two  pigeons  for  my 
dinner  ;  they  are  so  soothing  !' 

In  the  midst  of  our  pleasant  expectations  we 
found  ourselves  suddenly  invaded  by  a  swarm 
of  Indians,  male  and  female  of  all  ages,  who 
came  either  from  the  forest  or  in  canoes.  They 
pounced  on  us  so  swiftly  that  we  were  practically 
swamped  by  them  in  an  instant.  They  at  once 
began  to  beg  for  presents,  to  touch  and  smell 
any  of  the  articles  belonging  to  us  that  they 
could,  and  they  certainly  would  have  taken 
everything  had  it  been  possible. 

The  men  were  all  in  the  primitive  attire  of 


142     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

the  proud  Indian  whom  we  had  been  unable 
to  press  into  our  service  a  few  days  before. 
The  women  wore  tunics  made  either  from  coarse 
cotton  stuffs  obtained  from  the  traders,  or  from 
a  sort  of  bark,  pliant  and  fairly  soft,  called 
marimba.  Some  of  the  women  were  accom- 
panied by  two  or  three  children. 

With  the  tribe — for  it  was  a  whole  tribe  that 
had  fallen  upon  us — came  a  man  dressed  in 
trousers — the  regulation  article  such  as  you 
may  see  in  any  civilized  capital — and  a  woollen 
shirt  of  a  deep  red  hue.  He  was  the  chief  of 
the  tribe,  and  had  donned  that  garb  in  our 
honour. 

The  captain  told  Leal  that  the  various 
mothers  who  had  brought  their  children  were 
anxious  to  have  them  baptized.  Leal  replied 
that  the  matter  would  be  attended  to  on  our 
return  trip,  arguing  furthermore  that  the  three 
reverend  missionaries  should  not  be  disturbed 
as  they  lay  in  their  hammocks,  for  though,  had 
they  been  ordinary  men,  they  might  be  thought 
to  be  asleep,  yet  being  persons  of  eminent  piety 
it  was  more  probable  that  they  were  entranced 
in  meditation.  Leal  backed  his  plea  with  a 
gift,  a  most  wonderful  argument  which  carries 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     143 

conviction  to  wild  Indians  almost  as  quickly  as 
to  civilized  men.  The  chief  did  not  insist,  and 
for  the  moment  we  were  left  to  our  pseudo- 
religious  and  silent  contemplations. 

Shortly  after,  however,  an  Indian  mother, 
with  one  child  in  her  arms  and  two  in  her 
wake,  proved  obdurate  and  relentless.  Her 
thirst  for  the  baptismal  waters — at  least,  on 
behalf  of  her  children  if  not  of  herself — must  be 
slaked  at  all  costs.  All  Leal's  efforts  proving 
fruitless,  he  ended  by  telling  her  that  I  was  the 
chief  missionary.  Once  recognised  as  a  pillar 
of  the  Church,  I  was  prepared  for  any  sacrifice 
of  self,  so  that  on  the  Indian  woman  ap- 
proaching me  I  got  ready  to  perform  whatever 
ceremony  she  might  want  to  the  best  of  my 
ability.  She  was  not  only  prudent  and  cautious, 
but  distrustful.  She  pulled  my  hat  off,  and  ran 
her  fingers  swiftly  through  my  hair.  On  seeing 
that  I  had  no  tonsure — her  mimic  was  as  clear 
as  speech — she  flung  my  hat  violently  on  the 
ground,  gesticulated  and  shouted,  attracting 
the  attention  of  all  her  companions. 

Here  was  a  complication  for  which  we  had 
not  bargained.  If  there  were  great  advantages 
in  our  being  taken  for  missionaries,  there  was 


144    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

also  great  danger  in  being  exposed  as  sham 
missionaries.  Something  must  be  done  to 
remedy  the  evil.  Leal  at  once  bethought 
himself  of  an  expedient ;  he  took  the  Indian 
woman  towards  the  hammock  where  Alex 
slept  in  sweet  oblivion,  unconscious  of  what 
was  going  on  around  him.  She  at  once 
dragged  off  his  hat,  and  on  finding  a  head  bril- 
liantly bald  almost  fell  prostrate.  Hierarchy, 
or  what  in  her  savage  mind  stood  for  it, 
evidently  grew  higher  with  the  size  of  the 
tonsure,  and  here  the  tonsure  was  immense. 
Had  she  known  the  various  dignities  into  which 
the  Catholic  priesthood  is  divided,  she  might 
have  taken  Alex  for  the  Pope.  Be  that  as  it 
may,  she  was  satisfied.  Alex,  on  being  in- 
formed, swallowed  the  pill  gracefully,  and 
prepared  to  do  his  duty. 

The  woman  brought  forward  her  smallest 
child.  Here  again  new  difficulties  ensued. 
We  held  a  council  of  consultation  as  to  the 
modus  operandi.  Opinions  differed  widely,  and 
were  supported  vehemently,  as  is  sure  to  be 
the  case  when  all  those  discussing  a  given 
subject  happen  to  be  equally  ignorant.  Finally 
some  sort  of  plan  was  adopted,  and  the  child 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     145 

was  baptized  in  accordance  with  a  rite  evolved 
from  our  own  dim  recollections,  with  such 
modifications  as  seemed  most  fit. 

There  under  the  blue  heaven,  with  the  broad 
winding  river  at  our  feet,  close  by  the  dense, 
darkening  forest  that  lay  behind  us,  its  branches 
overhead  forming  a  panoply  of  green,  studded 
with  the  gold  and  yellow  and  blue  flowers  of 
the  numerous  creepers,  we  performed  the 
ceremony  of  baptism,  initiating  the  young 
savage  into  the  Church  of  Christ  our  Lord 
with  a  feeling  of  deep  reverence,  intensified  by 
our  own  sense  of  ignorance.  Let  us  hope  that 
the  solemnity  of  the  act,  which  flashed  before 
us  like  an  unexpected  revelation,  compensated 
for  any  involuntary  informality. 

But  after  the  water  had  been  poured  on  the 
babe's  head,  and  the  ceremony  had,  as  we 
thought,  come  to  an  end,  the  mother  would  not 
take  her  child  back.  She  had  evidently  seen 
other  baptisms,  and  our  christening  was  not  up 
to  her  standard.  She  made  us  understand  that  on 
former  occasions  '  book  reading'  had  taken  place : 
such  was  Leal's  interpretation  of  her  words. 

We  had  come  to  look  upon  this  Indian 
woman   as   an  expert  critic.     Through  unpar- 

10 


146     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

donable  neglect,  which  to  this  day  I  cannot 
explain  satisfactorily,  we  had  neither  a  breviary 
nor  a  prayer-book  with  us,  so  we  laid  hands  on 
the  next  best  thing,  bearing  in  mind  what  a 
stickler  for  detail  this  Indian  woman  had  proved 
to  be.  A  book  of  poems,  an  anthology  of 
Spanish  poets,  gilt-edged  and  finely  bound, 
stood  us  in  good  service.  Alex  opened  it  at 
random,  and  read  a  short  poem  with  due  and 
careful  elocution  for  the  edification  of  the  new 
little  Christian. 

The  ceremony  had  to  be  performed  eight  or 
ten  times.  After  the  third  child  we  gave  them 
only  one  stanza  apiece,  as  our  ardour  was  some- 
what chilled. 

When  all  the  children  had  been  christened, 
the  chief  claimed  the  '  usual '  gifts.  He  soon 
explained  to  us  that  it  was  customary  for  the 
missionaries  to  make  presents  to  the  parents  of 
the  children  newly  baptized.  I  had  begun  to 
admire  the  zeal  of  these  mothers  in  quest  of  a 
higher  religion  for  their  children  ;  this  demand 
showed  that  their  fervour  was  accompanied  by 
greed,  being  thus  of  the  same  nature  as  that 
species  of  '  charity  with  claws ' — the  Spanish 
caridad    con    nnas.      Trifles   were    distributed 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     147 

amongst  the  mothers,  and  the  tribe  dis- 
appeared, rejoicing  in  their  possessions,  for  to 
these  folk  the  things  were  no  trifles,  and,  let  us 
hope,  exultant  in  the  acquisition  of  eight  or  ten 
buds  destined  to  bloom  into  Christian  flowers. 

History  doth  indeed  repeat  itself,  and 
humanity  imitates  humanity  heedless  of  time 
and  space.  If  I  remember  rightly,  Clovis, 
justly  anxious  for  the  conversion  of  his  legions 
to  Christianity,  presented  each  dripping  warrior 
after  baptism  with  a  tunic — a  most  valuable 
article  in  those  days,  when  Manchester  looms 
did  not  exist  and  all  weaving  was  done  by 
hand.  Those  pious  paladins,  it  is  said,  were 
like  our  Indian  friends  of  the  Vichada,  always 
ready  to  be  rechristened  on  the  same  terms  as 
before — that  is  to  say,  in  exchange  for  a  new 
tunic.  Yet,  for  all  their  sameness,  things  do 
somehow  change  with  time.  In  these  two 
instances  we  have  the  Church  as  a  donor,  and 
the  new  proselyte  as  a  receiver  of  presents 
more  or  less  valuable.  Once  the  conversion 
fully  assured,  what  a  change  in  the  parts  within 
a  few  generations  !  The  Church  gives  naught ; 
at  least,  it  gives  nothing  that  is  of  this  world. 
On  the  contrary,  it  takes  all  it  can  ;  the  people 

10 — 2 


148     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

are  led  to  heaven,  the  poorer  the  easier,  for  in 
the  kind  and  capacious  bosom  of  Mother 
Church  they  are  to  deposit  all  worldly  goods 
which  might  hamper  their  flight  to  higher 
regions.  A  beautiful  and  wonderful  evolution, 
and  we  had  not  far  to  go  to  see  it  in  full  play 
and  force.  The  savages  of  the  Colombian 
plains  are  still  in  that  primitive  pitiful  state 
when  they  have  to  be  bribed,  so  to  say,  into 
the  fold  of  the  Church  ;  many  of  the  civilized 
people  in  the  towns  and  cities  obey  and  respect 
that  Church  which  holds  sway  supreme  over 
them  in  life  and  in  death,  guiding,  controlling, 
saving  them.  Happy  the  nations  where  the 
chosen  and  appointed  servants  of  the  Most 
High,  disciplined  into  some  sort  of  priesthood 
or  other,  undertake  the  pleasing  task  'of  saving 
their  reluctant  fellow-men  at  the  latter's  ex- 
pense, but  with  the  sure  and  certain  faith  of 
those  who  know  that  they  are  working  for 
justice  and  for  the  happiness  of  their  fellows, 
though  these  may  choose  to  deny  it.  Happy, 
thrice  happy,  lands  where  the  invasion  of 
diabolical  modern  ideas  has  been  baffled,  and 
the  good  old  doctrine  of  abject  submission  still 
rules ! 


CHAPTER  XIII 

Whenever  we  started  afresh  in  the  morning,  or 
after  any  temporary  halt,  the  man  at  the  prow 
of  the  canoe  would  call  out,  '  Vaya  con  Dios' 
and  the  man  on  the  stern,  who  steered  with  a 
paddle  far  larger  than  the  others,  would  reply, 
' y  con  la  Virgen '  ('  God  go  with  us,'  '  and  the 
Virgin,'  respectively).  The  fair  Queen  of 
Heaven,  being  thus  commemorated,  piety  was 
wedded  to  chivalry. 

The  days  followed  each  other  in  seemingly 
endless  succession,  like  the  windings  of  the 
river.  Familiarity  with  the  ever  -  varying 
aspects  of  Nature  begot  a  sense  of  monotony 
and  weariness.  The  forests  and  the  prairies, 
dawn  and  sunset,  the  whole  marvellous  land- 
scape, passed  unheeded.  We  longed  to  reach 
the  main  artery  ;  the  Orinoco  was  our  Mecca, 
apparently  unattainable.     Fishing  and  hunting 


I50     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

had  lost  zest,  and  become  simple  drudgery, 
indispensable  to  renew  our  provender,  as  in 
the  long  journey  nearly  all  our  stores  were 
exhausted. 

Raoul  and  Leal  frequently  shot  at  the  alli- 
gators, which,  singly,  in  couples,  or  in  shoals, 
basked  in  the  sun  in  a  sort  of  gluttonous 
lethargy,  with  hanging  tongues  and  half-closed 
eyes.  The  huge  saurians,  when  hit,  would  turn 
over  and  make  for  the  water,  except  on  rare 
occasions  when  the  bullet  entered  below  the 
shoulder-blade,  this  being  a  mortal  wound. 

We  would  sit  listening  to  the  even  stroke  of 
the  paddles  on  the  sides  of  the  canoe  and  the 
drowsy  sing-song  of  the  men. 

Frequently,  towards  sundown,  we  heard  the 
deep  note  of  tigers  in  the  forest,  and  always  the 
confused  uproar  of  a  thousand  animals,  frogs, 
crickets,  birds,  ushering  in  the  night. 

Besides  alligators  and  wild-boar,  the  only 
other  large  animals  which  we  frequently  saw 
were  the  harmless  tapirs. 

Snakes  are  not  abundant  on  the  Vichada,  yet 
it  was  on  the  shores  of  that  river  that  we  came 
to  quite  close  quarters  with  a  water-snake  of 
the  boa  constrictor  species.      The   reptile  was 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     151 

found  coiled  not  far  from  our  halting-place. 
Raoul  at  once  fired  his  fowling-piece  at  short 
range,  blinding  and  wounding  it.  He  then 
discharged  the  five  bullets  of  his  revolver  into 
the  snake,  and  the  men  completed  the  work, 
beating  it  with  their  paddles.  When  stretched 
out,  it  measured  some  16  feet  in  length,  and  was 
of  corresponding  thickness. 

These  snakes,  though  not  poisonous,  are 
dangerous  if  hungry.  They  lurk  at  the 
drinking-places,  and  when  a  young  calf,  deer, 
or  any  other  small  animal  comes  within  reach, 
they  coil  themselves  round  it  and  strangle  it. 
They  devour  their  prey  slowly,  and  then  fall 
into  a  sleep,  which  is  said  to  last  for  several  days. 

In  all  probability,  the  snake  we  had  killed 
must  have  been  at  the  end  of  one  of  these 
periods.  Much  to  our  astonishment,  notwith- 
standing bullets  and  blows,  the  snake  began  to 
move  in  the  direction  of  our  hammocks.  Had 
this  not  been  seen  in  time,  it  might  possibly 
have  coiled  itself  around  some  unwary  sleeper. 
More  blows  were  administered,  and  this  time 
the  animal  seemed  quite  dead.  However,  it 
managed  to  roll  into  the  river,  and  on  striking 
the  water  appeared  to  revive. 


152     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

This  was  our  only  meeting  face  to  face  with 
a  denizen  of  these  forests  and  rivers,  and 
I  can  truly  say  we  longed  for  no  closer  ac- 
quaintance with  them. 

For  obvious  reasons  of  prudence,  we  soon 
made  up  our  minds  never  to  pitch  our  night 
camp  on  beaches  easy  of  access  to  the  Indians 
settled  along  the  shores,  but  during  the  day  we 
would  frequently  halt  at  their  settlements,  and 
this  enabled  us  to  see  a  good  deal  of  their  mode 
of  life  and  peculiarities. 

We  found  the  tribes  docile  and  friendly, 
rather  inclined  to  be  industrious  in  their  way 
than  otherwise. 

The  Indians  of  the  Vichada  basin  are  the 
bakers,  if  I  may  so  call  them,  of  that  great 
region.  The  bread  which  they  prepare  is  made 
from  the  mahoc,  or  yuca,  root,  which  grows  in 
plenty  along  the  banks  of  rivers  and  streams. 
There  are  two  kinds  of  viafioc,  one  sweet  and 
harmless,  the  other  bitter  and  poisonous,  yet  it 
is  from  this  latter  kind  that  the  casabe  is  pre- 
pared. The  root,  varying  in  length  from 
2  to  3  feet,  with  a  thickness  of  from  i  to  3 
inches,  is  grated  on  specially-prepared  boards 
of  very    hard    wood.       Thus    a    whitish    pulp 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     153 

is  obtained,  which  is  then  compressed  in  a 
most  primitive  manner.  A  hollow  cylinder, 
made  of  matting  of  coarse  and  pliant  straw, 
varying  in  length  from  4  to  6,  and  sometimes 
8,  feet,  and  in  diameter  from  5  inches  up- 
wards, is  filled  with  the  pulp,  sausage-wise. 
The  cylinder  is  then  hung  from  the  branch  of 
a  tree,  or  a  beam  conveniently  upraised  on  a 
frame  ;  it  is  then  stretched  and  twisted  from 
below.  The  juice  of  the  pulp  flows  through  the 
mesh  of  the  matting.  When  all  the  juice  has 
been  extracted,  the  pulp  is  emptied  into  large 
wooden  basins,  and  is  soaked  in  water,  which  is 
run  off,  the  operation  being  repeated  several 
times.  The  poisonous  element,  soluble  in 
water,  is  thus  eliminated,  and  the  pulp  is 
ready.  It  is  then  spread  on  a  slab  of  stone, 
thin  and  perfectly  even,  called  budare,  which 
stands  over  a  fire.  The  casabe  is  soon  baked, 
generally  in  round  cakes  from  12  to  18  inches 
in  diameter,  and  from  half  an  inch  to  an  inch  in 
thickness.  After  baking  it  is  stored  in  special 
baskets,  called  mapires^  where  it  can  be  kept  for 
months,  as  it  stands  all  weathers  and  is  imper- 
vious to  moisture.  It  has  the  taste  and  the 
consistency   of  sawdust,   and   hunger  must   be 


154     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

very  keen  for  any  novice  to  relish  the  food. 
Yet  it  is  most  nutritious,  and  after  a  while 
replaces  biscuit  and  bread,  especially  when 
these  are  not  to  be  found !  Not  only  the 
Indians,  but  even  the  white  men,  or  those 
who  call  themselves  civilized  in  that  vast 
region,  use  casabe  exclusively.  Wheat  flour  is 
soon  spoiled  in  that  hot,  damp  atmosphere, 
where  there  are  no  facilities  for  protecting  it 
against  moisture  and  vermin,  and  though  corn 
might  be  abundantly  produced,  there  are  no 
mills  to  grind  the  meal.  Population  is  so 
scarce,  and  the  few  inhabitants  are  so  far 
apart,  that  it  would  not  pay  to  set  up  the 
necessary  machinery.  Nature  seems  to  over- 
whelm man,  who  drifts  back  easily  into  primitive 
conditions  of  being. 

The  Indians  also  prepare  maiioc  flour.  The 
method  is  the  same  as  in  the  case  of  casabe, 
only  that  before  baking  the  pulp  is  allowed  to 
ferment  to  a  certain  degree ;  after  that  it  is 
baked  and  reduced  to  powder.  This  powder, 
mixed  with  water,  makes  an  acid,  refreshing 
drink.  If  sugar  or  molasses  be  available,  they 
are  added. 

As  I  have  said  before,  the  Vichada  Indians 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     155 

are  expert  weavers  of  hammocks,  and  carvers 
or  makers  of  canoes.  They  fell  a  large  tree, 
and,  after  months  of  labour,  produce  very  fine 
canoes.  The  canoes,  the  hammocks,  and  the 
casabe  and  maiioc  are  sold  to  traders  who 
realize  large  profits.  A  pair  of  trousers  and 
a  hat  to  the  captain  of  a  tribe  are  deemed  a 
good  price  for  a  small  canoe.  Such  articles  as 
a  cutlass,  or  an  axe,  are  most  highly  prized  by 
the  Indians,  and  are  paid  for  accordingly.  It 
is  pitiful  to  learn  how  these  poor  savages  are 
cheated,  when  not  robbed  outright,  by  the 
pseudo-Christians  who  come  in  contact  with 
them. 

They  also  manufacture  torches  from  resinous 
substances  extracted  from  the  forests.  Some 
of  these  substances  are  excellent  for  caulking 
purposes,  and,  as  they  are  found  in  great  abund- 
ance, should  constitute  an  important  article  of 
trade.  A  torch  made  from  peranian  about 
3  to  4  feet  in  length,  lighted  as  night  set  in, 
would  burn  with  a  brilliant  yellow  flame,  and 
throw  a  strong  glare  over  the  camp  in  the 
small  hours  when  the  bonfires  had  been 
reduced  to  embers. 

We  had  been  on  the  Vichada  about  twenty- 


156    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

five  days,  when  one  of  us  developed  symptoms 
of  fever,  and  as  these  increased  within  the  next 
twenty-four  hours,  we  looked  about  for  some 
convenient  spot  where  we  might  rest  for  a  few 
days,  lest  the  attack  might  become  really 
serious.  It  was  our  intention  to  build  up 
some  sort  of  hut — a  comparatively  easy  matter, 
as  some  of  our  men  were  old  hands  at  that 
kind  of  work.  Fortunately  for  us,  however, 
we  met  coming  from  the  mouth  of  the  Vichada 
a  Venezuelan  inarioc  trader,  who  was  sailing  to 
one  of  the  Vichada  afifluents,  where  he  expected 
to  receive  a  load  of  manoc  and  casabe.  The 
man's  name  was  Valiente.  He  had  three 
canoes  and  ten  men  with  him.  We  were 
delighted  to  meet  him,  as  it  had  been  impos- 
sible for  us  to  gather  correct  information  from 
the  Indians. 

He  told  us  that  we  were  still  two  or  three 
days'  journey  from  the  Orinoco,  advised  us  not 
to  put  up  at  any  of  the  beaches,  but  to  push  on 
to  within  a  few  hours  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Vichada,  where,  on  the  left  bank,  we  would 
find  an  abandoned  caney  that  had  been  built  by 
cattle-ranchers  some  years  previously.  He  had 
just  been    there.     It   was  possible,    he  added. 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     157 

that  we  might  find  some  Indians  in  possession, 
in  which  case  we  should  enforce  the  right  of 
the  white  man  and  drive  them  out.  At  any 
rate,  the  caney  was  on  high  ground,  the  forests 
around  were  clear,  and  we  should  find  it  far 
more  comfortable  than  anywhere  else  in  that 
neighbourhood. 

Following  his  advice,  we  hurried  on  as  fast 
as  we  could,  promising  to  wait  for  him  at  Santa 
Catalina,  that  being  the  name  of  the  place. 
Valiente  thought  that  he  would  start  back  in 
six  or  eight  days. 

In  due  course  we  reached  Santa  Catalina. 
On  the  high  bluff,  about  300  yards  from  the 
shore,  we  saw  the  welcome  outlines  of  a  caitey ; 
it  showed  unmistakable  signs  of  having  been 
built  by  white  men.  We  could  see  from  the 
river  that  it  was  inhabited.  This  was  not  so 
pleasant,  but  we  had  made  up  our  minds  that 
we  would  take  possession  of  the  caney  with  or 
without  the  consent  of  its  occupants.  If  soft 
words  proved  insufficient,  we  were  bound  to 
appeal  to  the  last  argument  of  Kings  and  of 
men  at  bay — force. 

I  really  did  not  feel  inclined  to  violence ; 
peaceful  means  and  diplomatic  parleying  seemed 


158    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

to  me  preferable,  but  as  we  had  no  choice, 
following  the  practice  sanctioned  by  experience, 
of  preparing  for  war  if  you  want  to  insure 
peace,  we  decided  to  make  a  great  display  of 
force,  even  as  the  Great  Powers,  with  their 
military  and  naval  manoeuvres — a  show  of  teeth 
and  claws  to  overawe  the  occupants  of  the 
caney. 

We  moored  on  the  bank  near  by.  Not- 
withstanding my  appearance,  which,  as  I  have 
chronicled  in  these  pages,  had  warranted  the 
belief  in  others  that  I  belonged  to  the  holiest 
of  human  professions,  I  was  told  off  to  ascertain 
whether  we  should  occupy  the  premises  peace- 
fully or  by  force.  I  donned  a  red  shirt, 
suspended  from  a  broad  leather  belt  a  most 
murderous-looking  cutlass  and  a  six-shooter, 
cocked  my  hat  sideways  in  a  desperado  fashion, 
and,  full  of  ardour,  advanced,  flanked  on  either 
side  by  Leal  and  one  of  our  men,  each  of 
whom  carried  a  rifle  and  the  inevitable  machete. 
Verily,  we  looked  like  a  wandering  arsenal ! 

Remembering  that  the  actor's  success  is  said 
to  be  greater  the  more  he  lives  up  to  his  part, 
I  endeavoured  to  look  as  fierce  as  possible, 
and  tried  to  call   to  mind  scenes  of  dauntless 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     159 

courage,  assaults  of  fortresses,  heroic  deeds 
from  my  historical  repertory.  I  must  have 
succeeded,  for  I  felt  uncommonly  brave,  par- 
ticularly as  there  seemed  to  be  no  danger 
warranting  our  preparations. 

Unfortunately,  I  happen  to  be  afflicted  with 
myopia,  which  at  a  certain  distance  blurs  the 
outline  of  objects  large  or  small. 

As  we  continued  to  advance  I  could  dis- 
tinguish that  someone  was  coming  towards  us. 
My  courage  evaporated  ;  I  felt  sure  that  this 
must  be  some  hostile  Indian  intent  on  hindering 
our  access  to  the  longed-for  caney.  I  would 
fain  have  turned  tail,  but  vanity,  which  is  the 
source  of  nine-tenths  of  the  displays  of  human 
courage,  pricked  me  on.  My  ears  awaited  the 
wild  whoop  of  the  advancing  Indian,  and  my 
eyes  were  prepared  to  witness  the  onslaught 
of  his  ferocious  braves  from  the  neighbouring 
bushes.  Yet  the  die  was  cast,  and  forward 
we  went. 

Imagine  my  surprise  when,  from  the  ap- 
proaching figure,  still  indistinct  and  vague  to 
my  short-sighted  eyes,  a  greeting  of  the  utmost 
courtesy  in  the  purest  Castilian  rang  forth  in  the 
air  of  the  clear  afternoon.      I  shall  never  forget 


i6o    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

it.  Those  words  in  my  native  tongue,  uttered 
in  the  midst  of  that  wilderness,  500  leagues 
from  the  nearest  town  or  civilized  settlement, 
conjured  up  in  one  moment  cherished  memories 
of  a  distant  world. 

Greatly  relieved,  I  put  aside  my  weapons  of 
assault  and  destruction,  which,  to  speak  the 
truth,  were  most  inconvenient  to  walk  in. 

I  knew  before,  and  am  more  convinced  than 
ever  since  that  day,  that  I  am  not  compounded 
of  the  clay  of  heroes  :  in  which  I  am  like  the 
rest  of  the  world.  Peace  and  peaceful  avoca- 
tions are  much  more  in  my  line.  I  love  heroes 
— military  ones  especially — in  books,  in  pictures, 
or  in  statues ;  as  every-day  companions,  I  believe 
— not  having  met  any  heroes  in  the  flesh — that 
they  must  be  unbearable.  They  really  owe  it 
to  themselves  to  get  killed  or  to  die  the  moment 
they  have  attained  their  honours.  They  are 
sure  to  be  ruined  if  left  to  the  vulgarizing 
influences  of  daily  life,  mixing  with  the  rest  of 
humanity  in  every-day  toil  and  strife.  You 
cannot  have  your  bust  or  portrait  in  Parliament 
or  Assembly,  your  niche  in  the  cathedral  or 
in  public  hall,  and  your  equestrian  statue  with 
your  horse  eternally  lifting  his  fore-legs  for  the 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     i6i 

edification  of  coming  generations,  and  at  the 
same  time  insist  on  walking  about  the  streets  in 
the  guise  of  a  commonplace  mortal !  If  you  live 
in  bronze  and  marble,  if  your  name  fills  half  a 
column  of  the  encyclopaedia,  and  appears  as  a 
noble  example  in  the  books  in  which  children 
are  taught  to  consider  brutal  violence  the 
highest  evolution  of  human  intellect  and  action, 
you  cannot  ask  your  humble  companions  on 
earth  to  put  up  with  you  in  their  midst. 
Heroes  should  find  their  places,  and  stick  to 
them,  for  their  own  greater  glory  and  the 
comfort  of  their  fellow-men. 

The  gentleman  whom  we  met  was  named 
Aponte,  and  came  from  Caracas,  the  capital  of 
Venezuela.  He  had  been  appointed  to  the 
governorship  of  the  Amazon  Territory.  After 
spending  several  years  in  its  capital,  San  Carlos, 
he  became  afflicted  with  cataract.  People  told 
him  that  the  Vichada  Indians  cured  cataract 
with  the  juice  of  certain  herbs,  which  they  kept 
secret.  He  had  arrived  at  Santa  Catalina 
about  ten  days  before  us,  accompanied  by  his 
sister  and  a  young  Corsican  who  had  been  in 
his  employ  at  San  Carlos.  An  Indian  woman 
from  one  of  the  tribes  had  taken  him  in  charge, 

II 


i62     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

and  made  daily  applications  of  some  milky  juice 
extracted  from  plants,  and,  strange  to  say,  he 
found  relief.  I  have  since  heard  that  he  is 
completely  cured. 

An  occulist,  who  travelled  through  those 
regions  two  or  three  years  later,  investigated 
the  truth  of  these  alleged  cures,  and  found  them 
to  be  authentic.  He  could  not,  however,  induce 
the  Indians  to  tell  him  what  they  use.  This 
knowledge  of  the  virtue  of  plants  amongst  the 
Indians  is  found  in  nearly  all  tropical  lands. 
Quinine,  to  which  humanity  owes  so  much,  was 
also  an  Indian  secret,  and  was  discovered  by 
a  well-known  combination  of  circumstances. 
Towards  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
in  one  of  the  Peruvian  States,  the  Indians  were 
treated  very  cruelly  by  their  masters.  The 
daughter  of  the  house  won  the  love  of  the 
Indian  slaves  by  her  kindness  and  charity.  It 
had  been  noticed  that  no  Indians  died  from 
malarial  and  other  fevers,  which  proved  fatal  to 
the  white  men,  but  what  means  they  employed 
could  not  be  learned  either  by  threats  or 
entreaties. 

The  daughter  of  the  cruel  master  was  taken 
ill.     Her  nurse,   an   Indian  woman,   gave  her 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     163 

some  concoction  which  saved  her  life,  but  would 
not  reveal  the  secret  for  years.  On  her  death- 
bed she  told  her  young  mistress  what  plant  it 
was  that  the  Indians  employed  against  fever. 
Thus  the  cinchona,  or  Peruvian  bark,  was  dis- 
covered. In  the  Choco  regions  in  Colombia, 
which  teem  with  snakes,  the  Indians  know  not 
only  the  plants  that  cure  the  bite  and  counteract 
the  poison,  but  those  which  confer  immunity. 
They  also  have  a  combination  of  substances 
forming  a  sort  of  paste,  which,  when  applied  to 
the  wounds  and  ulcers  of  man  or  animal,  how- 
ever sore  they  may  be,  exercise  a  healing  and 
immediate  action. 

I  had  an  uncle,  Dr.  Triana,  well  known  to 
European  botanists,  and  especially  to  collectors 
of  orchids,  to  several  varieties  of  which  his 
name  is  linked  (the  numerous  varieties  of 
Catleya  trianensis  are  named  after  him).  He 
lived  for  a  long  time  in  the  Choco  region,  and 
brought  back  large  quantities  of  this  paste, 
which  he  used  with  success  in  cases  of  wounds 
and  ulcers,  both  in  Europe  and  America,  but  he 
could  never  persuade  the  Indians  to  tell  him  its 
exact  composition. 

The  young  Corsican  whom  we  found  with 

1 1 — 2 


i64     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

Mr.  Aponte  was  a  sort  of  globe-trotter,  jack-of- 
all-trades,  hail-fellow-well-met  with  everybody. 
He  was  an  explorer,  a  dentist,  could  serve  as 
barber  if  required,  had  acted  as  clerk  to  Mr. 
Aponte,  had  with  him  a  fairly  well-stocked 
medicine-chest,  and  proved  to  be  a  first-rate 
cook.  He  either  knew  something  of  medicine 
or  made  up  for  ignorance  by  his  daring.  At 
any  rate,  he  took  our  sick  companion  in  hand, 
administered  to  him  some  of  his  drugs,  and  in 
two  or  three  days  restored  him  to  perfect  health. 
This  was  a  great  blessing.  Thus  disappeared 
from  our  horizon  the  only  ominous  cloud  which 
darkened  it  during  those  days  of  so  much  sun- 
light and  freedom.  Those  who  know  not  what 
tropical  fevers  are  can  form  no  idea  of  the  dread 
that  their  presence  inspires  when  one  sees  them 
stealthily  gaining  ground.  At  times  they  act 
slowly,  and  give  one  a  chance  of  struggling 
against  them,  but  often  they  develop  with 
lightning  rapidity,  and  a  man  in  full  health  and 
in  the  bloom  of  life  is  cut  down  suddenly  in  a 
few  days  or  in  a  few  hours. 

Figarella  was  the  name  of  the  Corsican 
'  doctor '  who  enlivened  the  few  days  we  spent 
at  Santa  Catalina  with  his  songs,  his  tales  of 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     165 

Corsica,  the  narrative  of  his  adventures,  true 
and  fanciful,  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  who 
managed  to  prepare  sumptuous  dinners  with 
turtle  eggs,  wild-boar  meat,  fresh  fish,  and 
other  ingredients,  picked  up  the  Lord  only 
knows  where.  I  often  had  qualms  that  he 
must  be  drawing  too  freely  on  his  medicine- 
chest,  but  the  dishes  proved  palatable,  and  as 
we  survived  from  day  to  day  we  have  nothing 
but  thanks  and  gratitude  to  the  friend  whom 
we  met  in  the  midst  of  those  wilds,  with  whom 
our  lives  came  in  contact  for  a  few  days,  who 
then  remained  behind  to  work  out  his  own 
destiny,  as  we  ours,  even  as  two  ships  that 
sight  each  other  for  a  moment  in  mid-ocean 
and  then  both  disappear. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

Friend  Valiente  turned  up  at  Santa  Catalina, 
his  canoes  laden  with  manoc  and  casabe,  two 
days  after  our  arrival. 

Though  the  ranch  had  been  abandoned  for 
some  time,  stray  cattle,  more  or  less  wild, 
roamed  about  the  neighbourhood.  Leal  and 
Valiente  soon  lassoed  a  fine  heifer,  which, 
slaughtered  without  delay,  replenished  our 
commissariat.  We  celebrated  a  banquet  like 
that  held  on  New  Year's  Day  at  San  Pedro 
del  Tua.  We  still  had  a  little  coffee,  but  of 
rum,  which  had  then  formed  such  an  attraction, 
only  the  fragrant  memory  remained.  Its  place 
was  supplied  with  what  was  left  of  our  last 
demijohn  of  aniseed  aguardiente. 

As  Valiente  intended  following  the  same 
route,  we  decided  to  wait  for  him.  He  knew 
that  part  of  the  Vichada  and  the  Orinoco  well. 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     167 

There  were  several  small  rapids  which  it  was 
not  advisable  to  cross  without  a  pilot. 

Two  days  after  leaving  Santa  Catalina  we 
struck  the  Orinoco,  with  a  feeling  of  boundless 
joy.  It  seemed  to  us  as  if  we  had  reached  the 
open  ocean,  and  the  air  itself  appeared  purer, 
more  charged  with  invigorating  oxygen. 

After  a  short  spin  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Vichada,  we  reached  Maipures,  where  Vene- 
zuelan authorities  were  stationed.  Knowing 
that  Venezuelans,  as  a  rule,  are  inclined  to  be 
less  reverent  and  respectful  towards  the  Church 
and  its  servants  than  the  average  Colombian, 
we  abandoned  our  ecclesiastical  character,  drop- 
ping it,  as  Elias  dropped  his  mantle  upon 
earth,  on  the  waters  of  the  Vichada,  where  it 
had  done  us  such  good  service. 

It  was  indispensable  that  we  should  find  a 
pilot  for  the  rapids.  It  seems  that  in  former 
days  the  Venezuelan  Government  kept  two  or 
three  pilots  at  Maipures,  but  we  found  to  our 
sorrow  that  they  had  disappeared  long  since. 
However,  not  far  from  Maipures  we  were  told 
that  we  should  find  a  man  named  Gatino,  one 
of  the  best  pilots  on  the  river.  We  at  once 
started  in  quest  of  him,  and  found  him  in  the 


i68     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

thick  of  the  forest  about  a  mile  from  the  shore. 
He  was  gathering  tonga  beans,  and  had  formed 
a  little  camp,  accompanied  by  his  family,  which 
consisted  of  his  wife,  two  children,  a  boy  and 
girl  of  fourteen  and  twelve  respectively,  and 
two  smaller  children  of  five  and  six.  He 
agreed  to  take  us  across  the  rapids,  provided 
we  would  wait  at  Maipures  until  he  could  pack 
his  beans  and  gather  some  india-rubber  ex- 
tracted by  himself.  As  there  was  no  help  for 
it,  we  agreed  to  wait.  Maipures  turned  out  to 
be  nothing  but  a  group  of  some  fifteen  or 
twenty  tumble-down,  rickety  houses,  inhabited 
by  about  a  score  of  people,  amongst  them 
the  prefect  or  political  representative  of  the 
Government.  He  received  us  most  cordially, 
and  placed  one  of  the  buildings  at  our 
service.  I  believe  both  Valiente  and  Leal 
gave  him  to  understand  that  we  were  high  and 
mighty  personages  representing  the  Colombian 
Government  on  a  tour  of  inspection  through 
the  lands  awarded  to  Colombia  by  a  recent 
decision  in  a  case  of  arbitration  between  the 
two  republics,  handed  down  by  the  Queen  of 
Spain.  Maipures,  where  the  functionary  in 
question   was  supreme,  came  within   the    new 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     169 

jurisdiction,  and  possibly  the  belief  that  we 
might  exercise  some  influence  in  maintaining 
him  in  his  important  office  may  have  had  to  do 
with  his  courtesy  and  goodwill  towards  us.  It 
was  lucky,  however,  that  such  an  impression 
was  created.  Shortly  after  our  arrival  he  in- 
formed us  that  the  Governor  of  the  Amazon 
territory  had  just  communicated  to  him  orders 
to  prevent  all  travellers  on  the  river  from 
ascending  or  descending  the  stream  —  in  a 
word,  to  keep  them  as  prisoners  at  Maipures. 
On  reading  the  Governor's  note  to  us,  he 
argued,  '  This  cannot  apply  to  you,  for,  being 
Colombians,  you  are  outside  the  Governor's 
jurisdiction.'  Here,  again,  as  when  conferring 
ecclesiastical  dignity  upon  us,  Leal  had  acted 
with  prudence  and  foresight. 

At  Maipures  we  felt,  as  we  never  felt  before 
or  after  during  the  journey,  the  presence  of 
the  numerous  insects,  and  noticed  that  these 
winged  creatures  worked  with  method  and 
discipline.  The  puyon  sounded  the  charge 
shortly  after  sunset,  attacking  without  haste 
and  without  rest  during  the  whole  night.  At 
dawn  it  would  retire  to  camp,  sated  with  our 
gore.     The  post  of  honour  was  taken  by  the 


170    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

sand-flies,  which  would  remain  on  duty  during 
the  earlier  part  of  the  forenoon.  In  their  turn 
they  were  replaced  by  some  other  arm  of  the 
service  during  the  hot  hours  of  the  day,  and  so 
on  till  nightfall,  when  the  puyon,  refreshed  and 
eager,  would  again  fall  upon  his  prey.  There 
is  no  greater  regularity  in  the  change  of  guards 
at  a  fortress  than  is  observed  by  these  insects  in 
their  war  upon  men  and  animals. 

The  mosquito-net  was  the  only  real  pro- 
tection. Some  relief  is  obtained  by  filling  the 
room  with  smoke  from  smouldering  horse  or 
cattle  manure,  but  the  nauseous  smell  and  the 
ammonia  fumes  made  the  remedy  worse  than 
the  evil.  We  also  feared  to  share  the  fate  of 
herrings  and  other  fish  subject  to  the  process, 
and  preferred  the  seclusion  of  our  mosquito-bars. 

These,  however,  were  all  minor  troubles, 
mentioned  here  as  a  matter  of  record.  From 
our  temporary  abode  we  could  hear  the  distant 
thunder  of  the  rapids,  as  of  batteries  of  cannon 
in  a  great  artillery  duel.  The  waters  of  the 
Orinoco,  suddenly  twisted  into  a  narrow  bed, 
wrestle  with  the  boulders  of  granite  scattered 
in  the  channel,  which  they  have  frayed  through 
the  very  heart  of  the  huge  basaltic  mountains. 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     171 

Life  in  those  regions,  from  what  we  gathered, 
is  as  wild,  as  untamed,  and  irresponsible  as  the 
rivers  or  forests,  and  as  the  animals  that  roam 
in  them.  Violence  and  force  are  the  only  law, 
greed  is  the  sole  guiding  principle,  amongst 
men.  The  functionaries  in  most  cases  are  only 
authorized  robbers  and  slayers.  The  Indians, 
being  the  most  helpless  victims,  are  plundered 
and  murdered,  as  best  suits  the  fancy  of  those  re- 
presentatives of  organized  Governments,  whose 
crimes  remain  hidden  behind  the  dense  veil  of 
interminable  forests. 

When  news  of  any  of  these  misdeeds  does 
chance  to  reach  the  official  ear,  the  facts  are 
so  distorted  on  the  one  hand,  and  there  is  so 
little  desire  to  investigate  on  the  other,  that  no 
redress  is  ever  obtained. 

Whilst  at  Maipures  there  came  in  a  man 
from  San  Carlos,  the  capital  of  one  of  the 
Amazon  territories.  He  told  a  gruesome  story. 
The  Governor  of  that  province,  whom  he  re- 
presented as  a  prototype  of  the  official  robbers 
just  mentioned,  had  exasperated  his  companions 
by  his  all-absorbing  greed.  The  Governor 
seized  all  the  tonga  beans  and  india-rubber  ex- 
tracted by  the  poor  Indians,  who  were  forced 


172     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

to  work  without  any  pay,  unfed,  whip-driven. 
His  companions,  who  expected  a  share  in  the 
plunder,  conspired  to  murder  him.  He  was 
known  to  be  fearless  and  an  admirable  shot. 
One  night,  however,  his  house  was  surrounded 
by  a  score  or  so  of  his  followers ;  a  regular 
siege  ensued ;  the  young  Governor  kept  his 
assailants  at  bay  for  several  hours.  He  was 
accompanied  by  a  young  Spanish  ballet-dancer, 
who  had  followed  his  fortunes  undaunted  by 
the  dangers  of  that  wild  land.  She  would  re- 
load the  guns  whilst  he  scanned  the  ground 
from  the  only  window  of  the  room.  One  of 
the  assailants  crept  upon  the  roof  of  the  house 
and  shot  him  from  behind.  He  died  in  a 
few  hours.  The  canoes  laden  with  all  kinds 
of  produce  despatched  by  him — not  down  the 
Orinoco,  for  he  feared  they  might  be  seized 
on  the  long  journey  through  Venezuelan 
territory,  but  through  the  Casiquiare  to  the 
Amazon — were  said  to  be  worth  ^40,000  or 
;^50,ooo.  Even  if  not  accurate  in  all  its 
details,  which  I  repeat  from  the  statement  of 
the  new  arrival  at  Maipures,  this  instance  gives 
an  idea  of  the  conditions  that  prevail  in  those 
localities. 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     173 

True  to  his  word,  Gatino  turned  up  at 
Maipures  on  the  third  day,  and  we  continued 
our  journey  at  once. 

The  rapids  of  the  Orinoco  break  the  open 
current  of  the  river  for  a  distance  of  some  forty 
or  fifty  miles.  The  Maipures  rapids  are  from 
five  to  six  miles  in  length.  The  river  then 
continues  its  quiet  flow  for  about  twenty  or 
twenty-five  miles  down  to  the  rapids  of  Atures  ; 
thence  it  flows  to  the  ocean  without  any  further 
obstacle  of  importance. 

Gatino  had  his  own  canoe  of  a  special  type, 
much  larger  than  ours,  very  deep,  heavy, 
capacious,  and  comfortable.  It  was  the  real 
home  of  his  family. 

I  asked  him  why  he  did  not  settle  some- 
where on  the  banks  of  those  rivers.  He  told 
me  that  both  on  the  Orinoco  and  on  the 
afliuents  there  were  numberless  spots  on  high 
ground,  free  from  all  floods,  abundant  in  game, 
within  easy  reach  of  good  fishing,  healthy  and 
cool,  where  he  would  fain  settle.  *  But  we 
poor  wretches,'  he  added,  '  have  no  rights. 
When  we  least  expect  it,  up  turns  a  fine 
gentleman  sent  by  some  Government  or  other 
with   a  few  soldiers  ;    they  lift  our   cattle  and 


174     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

steal  our  chickens,  destroy  what  they  do  not 
take  away,  and  compel  us  to  accompany  them, 
paddling  their  canoes  or  serving  them  as  they 
may  want  without  any  pay.  Whenever  I  hear,' 
he  went  on  to  say,  '  that  white  men  in  authority 
are  coming  along  the  river,  I  start  immediately 
in  my  canoe  through  the  cafios  as  far  inland  as 
I  can.  The  wild  Indians  and  the  savages  are 
kind  and  generous ;  it  is  the  whites  and  the 
whites  in  authority  who  are  to  be  dreaded.' 

Gatino  was  himself  a  full-blooded  Indian, 
but,  having  been  brought  up  on  some  settle- 
ment, he  considered  himself  a  civilized  man, 
and  in  truth  it  was  strange  to  see  how  he 
practised  the  highest  virtues  of  an  honest  man. 
He  loved  his  wife  and  family  tenderly ;  he 
worked  day  and  night  for  their  welfare.  He 
longed  for  a  better  lot  for  his  children,  the 
eldest  of  whom  '  studied '  at  the  city  of  San 
Fernando  de  Atabapo,  the  only  city  which  he 
knew  of  by  personal  experience.  As  it  consists 
of  eighty  or  a  hundred  thatch-roofed  houses, 
one  may  well  imagine  what  the  word  '  city ' 
implied  in  his  case ;  yet  his  thoughts  were 
constantly  centred  on  the  learning  which  that 
child  was   storing  to   the  greater  honour  and 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     175 

happiness  of  his  wandering  family.  Reading 
and  writing  formed  the  curriculum  of  that 
university,  possibly  because  they  marked  the 
limit  of  the  teacher's  attainments  ;  but  let  us 
be  ashamed  of  mocking  the  humble  annals  of 
so  good  a  man. 

I  cannot  forbear  mentioning  an  incident,  a 
parallel  to  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  find 
amongst  nominally  civilized  folk.  One  of  our 
men  who  had  accompanied  us  from  San  Pedro 
de  Arimena,  knowing  our  plight  and  our 
dependence  on  Gatifio,  took  him  aside,  in- 
forming him  that  we  had  plenty  of  gold,  and 
that  as  one  of  us  was  ill,  and  we  desired  to 
reach  the  open  river  as  soon  as  possible,  it 
would  be  easy  for  him  to  name  his  price.  He 
suggested  that  Gatifio  should  charge  one  or  two 
thousand  dollars  for  the  job,  which  we  would  be 
bound  to  pay.  Gatifio  not  only  did  not  improve 
that  wonderful  opportunity,  but  he  forbore  from 
telling  us  of  the  advice  given  to  him.  He 
charged  us  100  dollars,  a  moderate  price  for  the 
work,  and  it  was  only  when  on  the  other  side  of 
the  rapids  that  Leal  learned  the  incident  from 
the  other  men. 

Here    was    a    test   which    not    many    men 


176     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

brought  up  in  the  midst  of  civilized  life  could 
have  withstood. 

Gatiiio  and  his  family  will  ever  remain  in  my 
mind  as  a  bright,  cheerful  group.  Alas  for 
them,  lost  in  those  solitudes  amongst  wild 
beasts  and  wild  Indians,  and  subject  to  the 
voracity  of  the  white  men,  who  become  more 
ferocious  than  the  worst  tiger  when  their  un- 
bridled greed  has  no  responsibility  and  no 
punishment  to  dread  ! 

We  had  three  canoes  (including  Gatiilo's)  to 
take  down.  We  were  obliged  to  empty  them 
completely.  The  men  carried  everything  on 
their  backs  along  the  shore,  whilst  the  canoes 
shot  the  rapids. 

When  I  saw  Gatifio  on  the  first  rapids,  I 
believed  him  to  be  bent  on  suicide.  At  that 
point  the  river,  cut  and  divided  by  the  rocks, 
left  a  narrow  channel  of  about  300  feet  in 
length  close  in  to  the  shore.  Thus  far  the 
canoes  had  been  dragged  by  the  current  and 
held  by  means  of  ropes.  On  reaching  the 
channel,  Gatifio  manned  the  canoe  with  four 
men  at  the  prow,  and  sat  at  the  stern.  The 
canoe,  still  tied  by  the  rope,  which  was  held  by 
four  men,  was  kept  back  as  much  as  possible 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     177 

from  the  current,  which  increased  in  speed  at 
every  inch.  At  the  end  of  the  channel  the 
whole  river  poured  its  foaming  volume  into  a 
huge,  cup-like  basin,  studded  with  rocks,  where 
the  water  seethed  as  if  boiling.  From  the  basin 
the  river  flowed  on  placidly  for  several  miles. 
This  was  the  end  of  the  first  rapids. 

Halfway  down  the  channel  the  men  let  go 
the  ropes,  and  the  canoe,  with  its  crew,  seemed 
like  a  huge  black  feather  upon  a  sea  of  foam, 
and  the  whole  length  of  the  channel,  white  and 
frothy,  appeared  like  the  arched  neck  of  a 
gigantic  horse  curved  to  drink  from  the  waters 
below.  The  waters,  before  entering  the  basin, 
formed  a  small  cataract  shooting  over  the  pro- 
truding ledge.  The  canoe  fell  into  the  basin, 
and  seemed  about  to  be  dashed  against  a  rock 
that  stood  in  its  way.  On  again  striking  the 
waters,  Gatifio  gave  the  word  of  command,  and 
the  four  men  began  to  paddle  steadily  and 
with  great  force,  as  if  to  increase  the  impetus. 
Gatino  remained  quiet  and  motionless  in  his 
place,  holding  his  paddle  out  of  the  water  ready 
to  strike.  At  a  given  moment  he  uplifted  it, 
thrust  it  deeply  into  the  waves,  and  moved  it 
dexterously,  so  that  the  canoe  turned  as  if  on  a 

12 


lyS    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

pivot,  and  quietly  glided  along  the  rock  upon 
which  it  would  have  been  dashed  into  a  thousand 
pieces. 

Gatiiio  explained  to  me  that  it  was  necessary 
for  the  men  to  paddle  so  as  to  give  the  canoe 
her  own  share  in  the  impetus,  and  make  it  more 
responsive  to  his  steering. 

Though  he  assured  me  that  there  was  no 
danger,  and  though  the  journey  along  the  shore 
was  tiresome  and  slow,  I  did  not  venture  to 
accompany  him  when  shooting  the  other  rapids 
before  reaching  the  open  river. 

The  Orinoco  has  drilled  an  open  passage-way 
through  a  spur  of  the  mountains  at  Maipures. 
The  struo-orle  between  the  waters  and  the  rocks 
must  have  lasted  centuries. 

'  Here  shalt  thou  halt,'  said  the  rock. 

'  Further  will  I  go,'  replied  the  river. 

Like  the  spoils  of  battle  on  a  stricken  field, 
the  shattered  rocks  stud  the  current,  which 
sweeps  roaring  and  foaming  around  and  over 
them.  They  resemble  the  ruins  in  the  breach 
of  a  battered  bastion.  The  river  is  the  victor, 
but,  as  will  happen  when  two  great  forces 
counteract  each  other,  the  result  is  a  com- 
promise,   and    the    course    of    the    stream    is 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     lyg 

deviated.  The  difference  of  level  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end  of  the  rapids  is  in  itself 
not  sufficient  to  cause  the  violence  with  which 
the  waters  run.  It  arises  from  the  sudden 
compression  of  the  powerful  volume  of  waters 
into  a  narrow  space.  The  waters  rush  through 
the  openings  made  in  the  rock  with  a  deafening 
sound,  torn  by  the  remnants  of  pillars  in  the  bed 
through  which  they  pass.  They  fill  the  air  with 
the  tumult  of  their  advance  ;  one  would  say  an 
army  was  entering  a  conquered  city,  quivering 
with  the  rapture  of  triumph,  lifting  up  the 
thunder  of  battle,  Titanic  bugle-calls,  and  the 
pseans  of  victory.  After  each  one  of  these 
narrow  breaches  in  the  wall  of  granite  the  river 
plunges  Into  deep  basins,  where  the  foaming 
waters  soon  sink  into  their  former  quiet  flow. 
The  soldiers  have  crossed  the  first  entrench- 
ments, and  collect  their  forces  before  the  next 
assault.  Soon  the  margins  on  either  side  begin 
to  hem  in,  the  waters  stir  more  rapidly,  and 
soon  again  the  mad  rush,  the  desperate  plunge, 
the  wild,  roaring,  Irresistible  onslaught,  and 
again  through  the  very  heart  of  the  mountain 
into  the  next  basin.  Finally,  after  storming 
the  last  redoubt,  the  river,  like  a  lion  freed  from 

12 2 


i8o    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

the  toils  which  imprisoned  him,  leaps  upon  the 
bosom  of  the  plain,  bounding  forward  in  solemn 
flow  towards  the  ocean.  The  clear  tropical  sun 
reflects  itself  on  its  ever- moving  bosom,  even  as 
the  clouds  and  the  forests,  the  mountains  and 
the  birds  on  wing.  The  wandering  mirror 
keeps  on  its  course,  being,  as  Longfellow  has 
it,  like  unto  the  life  of  a  good  man  '  darkened 
by  shadows  of  earth,  but  reflecting  an  image  of 
heaven.' 


CHAPTER  XV 

We  spent  ten  days  in  covering  the  distance 
from  the  upper  to  beyond  the  lower  rapids, 
walking  whenever  it  was  impossible  to  use  the 
canoes,  which  were  drifted  by  the  current  or 
shot  over  the  rapids.  The  delay  was  due 
chiefly  to  the  loading  and  unloading  of  the 
canoes,  and  the  necessarily  slow  transportation 
of  packages,  bundles,  and  sundry  articles  along 
the  shore. 

The  banks  of  the  river  on  either  side  along 
the  whole  length  of  the  rapids  are  high  and 
rocky,  sometimes  extending  for  a  mile  or  two 
in  flat,  grass-covered,  wavy  meadows,  and  then 
rising  in  small  hills,  abrupt  and  ragged  on  the 
very  edge  of  the  water.  This  is  specially  the 
case  in  the  narrow  part  of  the  gorges.  The 
grass  in  the  small  meadow-like  plains  is  the 
same  as  on  the  shores  of  the  Meta,  and  the 


i82     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

whole  aspect  of  the  region,  bare  of  large  forests, 
is  that  of  a  field  in  a  civilized  country. 

A  few  days  after  leaving  Maipures  we 
noticed,  to  our  joy,  the  absence  of  mosquitoes 
and  other  such  tormentors.  They  seemed  to 
have  been  blown  away  by  the  wind,  which  had 
freer  scope  in  the  more  open  stretches  along 
the  main  river. 

We  missed  the  soft  couch  of  the  sand 
beaches  to  which  we  had  become  accustomed, 
the  thin  layer  of  sand  or  earth  being  powerless 
to  soften  the  bed-rock  on  which  we  now  had 
to  stretch  ourselves,  but  the  flight  of  the 
mosquitoes  and  their  companions  more  than 
made  up  for  this. 

Our  commissariat  had  dwindled  to  utter 
meagreness  ;  we  had  neither  sugar  nor  coffee, 
and  casabe  was  our  only  bread.  The  last  drops 
of  aguardiente  had  been  drained  at  Santa 
Catalina.  At  Maipures  we  had  obtained  a 
drink  which  they  called  white  rum — in  truth, 
pure  alcohol,  which  we  had  to  drown  in  three 
times  the  quantity  of  water  before  we  swallowed 
it.  Our  cigars,  cigarettes  and  tobacco  were 
all  gone ;  they  were  part  and  parcel  of  an 
enchanted    past  —  smoke    wafted    heavenward 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     183 

like  so  many  of  our  hopes  and  illusions.  We 
had  obtained  native  tobacco,  with  which  we 
made  cigars  or  rolled  cigarettes  out  of  news- 
paper clippings.  Thus  we  consumed  many 
a  literary  article  or  political  effusion  which  it 
would  have  been  utterly  impossible  to  utilize 
in  any  other  way.  Corn-cob  pipes  also  came 
in  handily. 

Game,  furred  or  feathered,  was  not  to  be 
found  on  the  shores  of  the  rapids  ;  we  had  to 
rely  principally  on  fishing,  which  was  most 
abundant  in  the  quieter  pools  and  basins.  We 
ate  all  sorts  of  fish,  some  of  admirable  quality, 
especially  the  morrocoto,  far  superior  to  the 
French  sole  or  the  American  shad,  blue  fish, 
or  Spanish  mackerel.  If  Marguery  could  meet 
with  it,  his  immense  renown  would  increase 
tenfold,  as  with  this  fish  at  his  disposal  he 
would  be  certain  to  evolve  what  from  a 
culinary  point  of  view  would  amount  to  an 
epic  poem  of  the  most  sublime  order.  Such, 
at  least,  was  my  opinion  when  eating  that 
fish,  with  my  imagination  duly  fired  by  a 
voracious  appetite  and  a  lack  of  material  condi- 
ments which  gave  rise  to  dreams  worthy  of 
LucuUus  in  exile. 


i84     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

Rice  and  salt  we  had  in  plenty ;  butter,  oil, 
and  lard  were  unknown  quantities.  Had  we 
been  in  Lent,  necessity  would  have  enabled  us 
very  easily  to  observe  the  ordinance  of  the 
Roman  Church  with  regard  to  abstinence  from 
meat.  We  thought  of  this,  and  although  we 
were  not  sure  of  our  dates,  we  at  once  decided 
to  offer  up  our  enforced  diet  in  a  truly  Catholic 
spirit  in  atonement  for  some  of  our  many  sins ! 
May  our  offering  prove  acceptable ! 

We  did  not  go  to  sleep  as  readily  on  our 
new  hard  beds  as  on  the  sand.  The  clearness 
of  the  air  and  freedom  from  insects  also  con- 
tributed to  long  watches,  which  we  spent  in 
listening  to  the  far-off  roar  of  the  river  pealing 
incessantly  through  the  night  air,  whilst  Gatifio 
would  tell  us  about  the  life  of  men  and  beasts 
in  those  territories.  The  voice  of  the  river 
seemed  like  the  distant  bass  of  a  powerful 
orchestra,  all  the  high  notes  of  which  had  been 
lost  in  space. 

Gatifio  was  familiar  with  the  rivers  that  flow 
into  the  Orinoco  above  its  confluence  with  the 
Vichada,  and  the  numerous  caiios  which  inter- 
sect that  region  were  so  well  known  to  him 
that   on  one  occasion,  when  flying  from  some 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     185 

Governor  on  his  way  to  the  upper  territories 
who  was  anxious  to  obtain  his  services  as  a 
guide,  Gatifio  had  managed  to  lose  himself  in 
such  an  intricate  maze  of  cafios  and  water-ways, 
and,  finally,  in  a  small  lagoon,  unknown  to  all 
except  the  wild  Indians,  that  the  Governor 
had  given  up  the  chase  in  despair.  He 
had  travelled  on  the  Casiquiare  and  the  Rio 
Negro,  and  had  visited  the  Upper  Amazon. 
According  to  him,  the  Upper  Orinoco  and  its 
affluents  are  as  abundant  in  india-rubber  forests 
as  the  Amazon  and  its  tributaries,  the  Putu- 
mayo,  the  Napo  and  the  Yarabi.  The  gum  or 
india-rubber  is  identical  in  quality  with  that  of 
the  best  species  of  Para.  In  some  places  the 
trees  grow  so  closely  that  a  man  may  extract 
from  twenty  to  forty  pounds  of  india-rubber  a 
day.  Besides  large  virgin  areas  rich  in  india- 
rubber  forests,  in  other  parts  piazaba  palm 
forests  stretch  for  hundreds  of  acres  at  a  time. 
^\{\^ piazaba  is  used  for  matting,  broom-making, 
and  twisting  of  ropes  and  cables.  It  is  per- 
fectly impervious  to  moisture,  and  is  even  said 
to  improve  instead  of  rotting  in  water.  Not 
far  from  where  we  were  in  one  of  the  cafios, 
xho.  piazaba  forest  followed  the  water-course  for 


i86     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

a  distance  of,  Gatino  said,  'twenty  twists.'  An 
odd  system  of  measuring,  but  the  only  one  at 
his  command.  '  Twenty  twists '  might  be  five 
or  twenty  miles,  according  to  the  size  of  the 
curves.  These  forests  further  contained  infinite 
abundance  of  sarsaparilla,  tonga  bean,  peranian 
and  caraiia,  the  resinous  substances  used  for 
caulking  and  torch -making.  Gatifio  himself 
exploited  those  sources  of  wealth  as  far  as 
his  own  personal  means  and  limitations  would 
allow  him.  He  stated  his  willingness  at  any 
time  to  guide  us  to  the  spots  where  rubber, 
tonga  bean,  and  so  forth,  could  be  found, 
adding  that  he  knew  we  would  treat  him 
well,  but  that  he  would  never  consent  to  act 
as  a  guide  to  others,  especially  to  the  white 
men  in  official  positions  who  now  and  then 
appeared  along  the  river.  These  he  held  in 
special  abhorrence,  and  no  doubt  their  doings 
justified  his  feelings. 

Gatifio's  statements  as  to  the  wealth  of  the 
Orinoco  were  perfectly  truthful.  It  seems 
strange  that  such  vast  sources  of  wealth 
should  remain  practically  unexploited.  The 
rapids  of  the  Orinoco  act  as  a  barrier,  before 
which  traders  and  explorers  have  come  to  a 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     187 

standstill.  Some  sixty  or  seventy  years  ago 
cart-roads  existed  on  the  shores  along  the 
rapids  ;  these  were  built  by  the  missionaries, 
and  parts  of  them  are  still  intact.  Vegetation 
being  weak  on  the  hard  soil  of  those  banks,  it 
would  be  easy  to  re  -  establish  them.  The 
great  obstacle,  however,  is  to  be  found  in 
the  numerous  affluents  which  fall  into  the 
Orinoco  along  the  rapids.  The  missionaries 
had  large  pontoon-like  rafts  on  which  they 
transported  their  carts  from  one  side  to  the 
other.  Were  this  primitive  service  started 
once  more,  the  flow  of  natural  products  ex- 
tracted from  the  forests  would  soon  establish 
itself  from  the  Upper  to  the  Lower  Orinoco. 

One  day,  having  left  our  canoes  behind,  we 
arrived  at  the  shores  of  the  Cantaniapo,  a  clear 
stream  flowing  into  the  Orinoco  between  two 
stretches  of  rapids.  No  tree  shaded  us  from 
the  fierce  glare  of  the  sun.  The  waters 
murmured  most  invitingly  on  the  pebbles  of 
the  beach.  On  the  other  side  was  a  sort  of 
shed,  a  vestige  of  former  splendour.  A  small 
canoe  was  moored  alongside,  tied  with  -d.piazaba 
rope  to  the  trunk  of  a  neighbouring  tree.  So 
near,  and  yet  so  far !     We  should  have  to  wait, 


i88     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

perhaps,  broiling  in  the  sun  for  hours,  till  our 
canoes  arrived.  Whilst  we  discussed  the 
arduous  architectural  problem  of  building  a 
tent  with  such  articles  as  coats,  india-rubber 
waterproof  sheets,  and  so  on,  a  noise  as  of  a 
body  falling  into  the  water  drew  our  attention 
to  the  river.  Leal,  holding  his  machele  between 
his  teeth,  was  swimming  llanero  fashion — that 
is  to  say,  throwing  each  arm  out  of  the  water 
in  succession,  and  covering  a  distance  equal  to 
the  length  of  his  body  at  every  stroke.  The 
peril,  potentially  speaking,  was  extreme ;  one 
never  knows  whether  the  alligators  and  other 
inhabitants  of  those  waters  may  or  may  not  be 
at  hand.  Yet  Leal  did  not  seem  to  care. 
Fortunately,  he  soon  landed  on  the  opposite 
shore,  jumped  into  the  canoe,  cut  the  rope 
and  paddled  back.  On  our  remonstrating  with 
him,  he  argued  that  the  danger  was  slight ; 
alligators  hate  noise,  and  he  had  taken  care  to 
be  as  noisy  as  possible. 

'  Furthermore,'  he  added,  '  I  had  my  machete 
with  me.' 

We  stopped  that  night  under  the  shed. 
Gatiiio  came  in  due  time.  We  particularly 
wished  to  bathe   in   the  transparent  waters  of 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     189 

that  river,  not  as  Leal  had  done,  but  in  our 
usual  prudent  way,  standing  on  the  shore  far 
from  all  possible  danger. 

The  next  morning  we  saw  the  only  living 
tiger  which  met  our  eyes  during  that  long  trip. 
Early,  before  striking  the  camp,  the  shout  went 
forth — *  A  tiger  !  A  tiger  !'  There,  at  a  dis- 
tance of  about  150  feet  from  us,  on  a  small 
protruding  ledge  which  plunged  into  the  river, 
forming  a  sort  of  natural  drinking-place,  stood 
a  beautiful  specimen  of  the  native  tiger.  The 
wind,  which,  as  Leal  told  us,  blew  from  the 
land,  carried  the  scent  in  the  wrong  direction, 
and  this  explained  the  tiger's  visit.  On  hear- 
ing the  shout.  Leal  sprang  up  and  seized  one 
of  the  rifles.  The  tiger  looked  towards  our 
group  and  turned  tail,  bolting  in  the  direction 
whence  he  had  come,  behind  a  clump  of  bushes. 
Leal  followed  him.  We  soon  heard  a  shot,  and 
after  a  few  minutes  Leal  returned,  disgusted. 
He  had  only  wounded  the  animal.  I  argued 
with  him  that  we  were  most  thankful  to  the 
lord  of  the  forest  for  his  abrupt  courtesy  in 
leaving  the  field  entirely  to  us,  as,  had  he  felt 
inclined  to  enter  into  closer  relations,  we  might 
have  found  it  awkward,  to  say  the  least. 


iQo    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

Valiente  had  come  with  Gatifio.  Our  belong- 
ings seemed  to  him,  as  they  had  previously 
seemed  to  Leal,  an  abnormal  accumulation  of 
wealth.  We  had  kept  with  us,  not  knowing 
whether  they  might  again  be  required,  our 
riding-saddles.  My  own  was  large,  comfort- 
able, and  soft,  a  work  of  art  in  its  way.  Valiente 
seemed  to  admire  it.  The  remarks  which  he 
made  deserve  to  be  noted  here. 

'  This  saddle  is  certainly  very  fine  and  com- 
fortable ;  but  how  do  you  manage  when  crossing 
a  river  ?  Do  you  not  find  it  very  heavy  on 
your  head  ?' 

I  could  not  understand  what  he  meant,  until 
I  remembered  that  the  //aneros,  when  swimming 
across  a  river,  generally  carry  their  saddles  on 
their  heads  to  keep  them  dry.  At  first  I  thought 
Valiente  was  'pulling  my  leg.'  A  mere  glance 
at  my  person  should  suffice  to  persuade  anyone 
that  not  even  the  furious  onslaught  of  a  regi- 
ment of  Cossacks  would  induce  me  in  any 
circumstances  to  plunge  into  a  river  where 
there  was  a  chance  of  meeting  alligators  and 
such-like ;  I  was  still  less  likely  to  venture  on 
such  feats  with  the  additional  burden  of  a  heavy 
saddle  on  my  head.     However,  Valiente  was 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     191 

perfectly  in  earnest,  and  meant  no  harm  ;  so 
I  assured  him  with  perfect  calm  that  I  had 
never  noticed  on  any  occasion,  either  in  or 
out  of  the  water,  that  the  saddle  was  a  heavy 
one. 

'  Possibly,'  I  added,  '  it  is  a  question  of  habit.' 
'  May  be,'  he  said,  '  but  it  would  be  a  long 
time  before  I  got  used  to  it.  Look  at  my 
saddle  !'  he  went  on  to  say  ;  '  it  only  weighs 
a  fourth  of  yours.  Still,  I  should  like  to  try 
yours,  not  for  real  hard  work — branding,  lasso- 
ing, or  rounding  up  cattle — but  just  to  prance 
round  the  town  on  a  good  horse  and  charm  the 
girls.     That's  about  what  it's  fit  for !' 

That  day,  marked  in  the  calendar  of  our 
memory  as  the  '  tiger  day,'  our  supper  con- 
sisted of  boiled  rice  and  casabe.  Somehow  or 
other  there  had  been  no  fishing.  Yet  we  did 
not  grumble ;  custom  had  taught  us  to  be  easily 
satisfied.  We  learned  from  Gatifio  that  within 
twelve  miles  from  us  the  Atures  ruins  were 
to  be  found.  Behind  the  thick  forest  which 
separates  it  from  the  river  stands  a  short  range 
of  high  cliffs.  They  are  the  last  spur  of  the 
chain  through  which  the  Orinoco  has  drilled  its 
way.     At  a  height  of  600  to  700  metres  on  the 


192     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

vertical  wall,  so  straight  and  smooth  that  it 
seems  to  have  been  polished  all  over  by  the 
hand  of  man,  there  appear,  carved  in  the  very 
substance  of  the  rock,  a  huge  alligator  and 
two  human  figures,  standing  near  its  head  and 
tail  respectively.  All  are  of  colossal  dimen- 
sions. According  to  the  measurements  of  other 
travellers  provided  with  the  required  instru- 
ments, the  length  of  the  alligator  exceeds 
500  feet,  and  the  human  figures  are  of  pro- 
portionate size.  It  is  difficult  to  understand 
what  sort  of  scaffolding  was  used  to  carry  out 
this  work  at  such  a  height,  no  support  or 
traces  of  support  of  any  kind  in  the  rock  being 
apparent ;  what  instruments  were  used  for  the 
carving,  and  what  purpose  the  whole  work 
served  :  all  this  is  very  perplexing. 

Footprints  of  human  endeavour,  thoughts  of 
past  generations  entirely  lost  to  our  minds,  left 
there  in  the  midst  of  the  forest,  marking  the 
passage  of  men  who  must  have  been  powerful 
at  a  period  so  remote  that  only  these  traces 
remain.  What  more  eloquent  proof  of  the 
nothingness,  the  vanity,  of  our  own  ephemeral 
individual  life ! 

The  mere  magnitude  of  the  work  carried  out 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     193 

demonstrates  that  in  those  regions,  totally 
deserted  to-day,  where  Nature  has  reasserted 
her  absolute  sway,  and  where  the  wanderer  has 
to  fight  for  every  inch  of  ground  in  the  jungle 
and  the  thicket,  there  must  once  have  been 
multitudes  of  men  educated  in  certain  arts — 
arts  which  in  their  turn  must  have  been  links 
in  a  chain  of  sequence  indispensable  to  their 
own  existence,  as  isolated  effort  in  one  direction 
would  be  incomprehensible.  Nothing  of  those 
myriads  of  men  survives  beyond  this  dumb 
expression  of  their  thoughts  and  aspirations. 

Were  those  figures  carved  on  that  huge  wall, 
on  the  virgin  rock  of  the  mountains,  hundreds 
or  thousands  of  years  ago  ?  Who  knows  ? 
Who  can  tell  ? 

With  the  rapidity  inherent  to  human  thought, 
my  mind  sped  to  the  pyramids  of  Egypt,  the 
ruins  of  Babylon  and  Nineveh,  the  buried  cities 
of  Ceylon,  the  excavated  temples  and  palaces 
in  Yucatan  and  elsewhere,  wherever  vestiges 
of  vanished  generations  are  found. 

That  sculpture  on  the  rock  on  the  shores  of 
the  Orinoco  brought  to  my  mind  the  dying  lion 
cut  into  the  granite  on  the  banks  of  the  Lake 
of  Lucerne,  as  a  symbol  of  respect  and  admira- 

13 


194    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

tion  to  the  loyalty  and  steadfastness  of  the 
compatriots  of  William  Tell,  who  died  for  a 
cause  upon  which  judgment  has  been  passed 
in  the  minds  of  men  and  in  the  pages  of  history. 
I  could  not  help  thinking  that  perhaps  when 
Macaulay's  famous  New  Zealander  shall  stand 
upon  the  broken  arches  of  London  Bridge  to 
gaze  at  the  ruins  of  St.  Paul's,  when  England  and 
London  shall  have  crumbled  into  potsherds,  so 
in  years  to  come  some  native  of  these  Orinoco 
regions,  then  populous  and  civilized,  may  sail 
on  the  cool  waters  of  Lucerne  and  interrogate 
the  mute  rock,  anxious  to  know  the  allegory 
embodied  in  that  dying  lion  holding  in  its 
claws  the  shield  which  bears  the  three  secular 
lilies  of  old  France.  Even  as  the  rock  was 
mute  to  us,  so  shall  the  rock  again  be  mute  to 
him  who  thousands  of  years  hence  may  ques- 
tion Thorwaldsen's  sculpture.  The  efforts  of 
man  are  powerless  against  time  and  oblivion, 
even  though  they  choose  the  largest,  the  most 
lasting  manifestations  of  Nature  for  their 
pedestal. 

Time  passes  grimly  on.  The  endeavours  of 
pride,  of  flattery,  of  gratitude,  the  emblems 
of  glory,  all    become    dumb  and  meaningless. 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     195 

Egyptian  hieroglyphics,  figures  and  signs 
carved  in  monoliths  or  pyramids  or  in  the  rock 
of  the  mountains,  after  the  lapse  of  what,  to  the 
world,  is  but  an  instant,  all  become  confused, 
vague,  and  undefinable.  The  seeker  and  the 
student  find  all  those  attempts  to  perpetuate  the 
memory  or  the  aspirations  of  men,  now  on  the 
burning  sands  of  the  desert,  now  decked  in  the 
foliage  and  wealth  of  Nature,  aggressively  re- 
asserting her  empire,  now  in  the  naked  summits 
of  the  uplifted  mountains — yea,  the  seeker  finds 
them  all ;  but  he  knows  not  whether  they  be 
expressions  of  human  pride  anxious  to  survive 
the  life  of  the  body,  or  whether  they  be  witnesses 
of  servile  flattery  paying  tribute  to  the  miighty,  or 
the  grateful  offering  of  nations  to  their  heroes 
and  their  benefactors,  or  the  emblem  of  some 
dim  forgotten  religion,  whose  very  rites  are  as 
unintelligible  to  living  men  as  is  the  mystic 
power  which  once  gave  them  force. 


I  ^ — 2 


CHAPTER  XVI 

With  the  accession  of  Gatino  and  his  family 
and  Valiente  and  his  men,  our  numbers  had 
gradually  increased,  and  the  camp  at  night  had 
quite  a  lively  aspect.  The  men  would  tell  their 
adventures,  and  conversation  frequently  turned 
on  local  topics.  We  had  gradually  drifted  into 
practical  indifference  concerning  the  doings  of 
that  distant  world  to  which  we  belonged,  and 
towards  which  we  were  moving.  Newspapers, 
letters,  telegrams,  the  multifarious  scraps  of 
gossip,  the  bursts  of  curiosity  which  fill  so 
great  a  part  in  the  life  of  modern  man,  had 
totally  disappeared  as  daily  elements  in  our 
own.  To  tell  the  truth,  I  did  not  miss 
them  greatly.  I  have  always  thought  that  the 
daily  newspapers  are  thieves  of  time,  and  can- 
not but  approve  the  system  of  a  certain  friend 
of  mine,  an  Englishman,  who,  residing  in  New 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     197 

York,  had  no  other  source  of  information  for 
the  world's  news  than  the  weekly  edition  of 
the  Times.  He  was  dependent  on  it  even  for 
the  news  of  American  life  and  politics. 

He  argued  that  the  ups  and  downs  of  a  given 
event  were  of  little  interest  to  him. 

'All  that  one  need  know,'  he  said,  *  is  the 
upshot,  the  crystallized  fact,  without  wasting 
valuable  time  in  the  slow  developments  which, 
at  times,  are  pure  inventions  of  the  editor — 
"  padding,"  as  it  is  called.  I  am  a  little  behind- 
hand at  times,'  he  remarked,  '  but  at  the  end  of 
the  year  I  make  it  up,  balance  the  account,  and 
start  afresh,' 

Certainly  if  all  the  attention  given  to  local 
news  of  no  importance,  or  to  descriptions  of  fires, 
crimes,  and  sundry  topics  which  never  change 
in  essence  and  vary  solely  as  regards  names 
and  secondary  details,  were  devoted  to  studying 
something  useful,  the  average  mind  of  the  great 
newspaper-reading  nations  would  not  have  been 
degraded  to  the  depths  revealed  by  a  glance  at  a 
collection  of  the  newspapers  and  reading  matter 
on  the  bookstalls  of  any  railway-station  in 
France,  England,  or  the  United  States,  where 
the  flood  of  trash  and   sensationalism  swamps 


igS     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

and  carries  away  with  it  public  intelligence,  or 
what  stands  for  it. 

Gautier  used  to  complain  of  the  curse  of  the 
daily  press. 

*  Formerly,'  he  said,  *  every  human  being 
brayed  in  his  own  original  asinine  way.  Now 
we  only  get  variations  on  the  leaders  in  their 
respective  newspapers  !' 

The  great  French  writer  expressed  the  simple 
truth  in  a  pointed  way.  The  cheap  press,  like 
cheap  liquor,  is  a  public  calamity. 

Our  men  poured  forth  personal  impressions  of 
Nature.  The  world  varies  in  size  and  in  beauty 
in  proportion  to  the  eye  and  the  mind  that  con- 
template it.  In  Leal's  and  Valiente's  conversa- 
tion especially  there  was  something  like  the 
voice  of  the  forest  and  the  murmuring  waters. 
They  had  lived  to  some  purpose  in  those 
deserts,  and  to  them  cities,  railways,  palaces, 
sea-going  ships,  and  all  the  other  methods  of 
modern  locomotion — material  civilization,  in 
fact — were  as  wonderful  as  the  beauties  and 
splendours  of  Eastern  tales  are  to  us. 

Talking  about  tigers,  Leal  told  us  that  they 
roamed  all  over  those  plains,  especially  on  the 
banks  of  the  Meta  and  the  Orinoco,  where  the 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     199 

forests  intersect  breeding  and  grazing  plains. 
The  cattle-ranchers  must  be  ever  on  the  watch, 
and  from  instinct  and  experience  the  cattle 
acquire  a  natural  spirit  of  defence  without  which 
the  losses  would  be  far  heavier  than  at  present. 

Whenever  the  cattle  scent  the  approach  of 
the  tiger,  they  crowd  together,  the  young  calves 
in  the  centre,  the  cows  and  young  heifers  cover- 
ing them  behind  their  bodies,  and  the  bulls 
pacing  around  and  outside  the  group  like 
sentinels  before  a  tent.  There  is  no  exaggera- 
tion in  this  tale.  Leal  assured  us  that  he  had 
himself  seen  these  preparations  on  more  than 
one  occasion. 

The  tiger,  whose  daring  and  ferocity  are 
multiplied  tenfold  by  hunger,  frequently  attacks 
the  group :  then  ensues  a  life  and  death  struggle. 
The  tiger  tries  to  jump  upon  the  bull  sideways 
or  from  behind,  whilst  the  bull  strives  to  face  the 
tiger  constantly.  As  the  latter  is  far  more  agile 
and  can  leap  from  a  long  distance,  he  frequently 
lands  upon  the  bull,  sometimes  breaking  his 
spine  with  the  blow.  If  he  misses,  the  bull 
gores  him.  Occasionally  both  animals  die,  the 
tiger  in  its  death-struggle  tearing  the  bull's 
neck  open  with  its  claws. 


200     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

'More  than  once,'  said  Leal,  'have  I  found 
the  two  enemies  dead  in  a  pool  of  blood  side 
by  side.' 

The  tigers  also  crouch  in  the  bushes  close  to 
the  drinking-places,  and  jump  upon  the  animals 
as  they  lower  their  heads  into  the  water.  They 
rip  open  the  necks  of  their  victims,  drag  them 
into  the  jungle,  and  there  devour  them. 

The  hunters  know  that  a  sated  tiger  is  far 
less  daring  than  a  hungry  one,  and  they 
frequently  place  a  calf  or  some  other  easy  prey 
within  his  reach.  After  his  meal  he  is  hunted 
down,  but  Leal  added  that  this  is  not  considered 
fair  play  amongst  thoroughbred  llaneros ;  it  is  a 
trick  unworthy  of  a  real  sportsman. 

The  tigers  live  exclusively  upon  other  animals. 
They  prefer  cattle,  and  have  a  special  predi- 
lection for  donkeys  and  mules ;  they  are 
gourmets.  The  choicest  morsel  to  their  taste 
seems  to  be  the  fat  neck  of  donkeys  and  mules  ; 
they  have,  too,  a  pretty  taste  in  turtles.  They 
can  crush  the  back  of  the  younger  turtles  not 
yet  fully  developed.  These  awkward  amphi- 
bians rush,  if  their  ponderous  movements  can 
be  so  described,  into  the  water  for  fear  of  the 
tiger.     There  he  is  powerless  to  harm  them. 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     201 

The  alligator  rivals  the  tiger  in  voracity  and 
fierceness.  They  are  sworn  enemies,  and 
attack  each  other  whenever  they  meet.  The 
odds  are  on  the  tiger's  side  if  the  struggle  be  on 
land,  and  in  favour  of  the  alligator  if  the  pair 
meet  in  the  water.  The  tiger  seeks  to  turn  the 
alligator  over  on  his  back,  or  to  get  at  the  body 
towards  the  stomach,  where  the  softer  skin  can 
be  penetrated  by  the  tiger's  claws,  which 
disembowel  his  enemy.  The  alligator  defends 
himself  by  striking  terrific  blows  with  his  tail, 
and  seeks  to  scrunch  the  tiger  between  his 
formidable  jaws.  Fights  between  them,  Leal 
said,  are  frequently  seen  on  the  beaches,  and 
are  a  fascinating  though  ghastly  spectacle. 

The  tigers  frequently  cross  rivers  infested 
with  alligators,  and  display  a  really  marvellous 
cunning  in  avoiding  their  enemy  in  his  own 
element.  The  tiger  will  stand  on  the  beach  at 
a  given  point  of  the  river,  and  there  roar  with 
all  his  might  for  an  hour  or  so  on  end. 
The  alligators,  in  the  hope  of  getting  at  him, 
congregate  in  the  water  at  that  particular  point. 
When  the  members  of  the  assembly  thus 
convened  have,  so  far  as  the  tiger  can  judge, 
met  at  the  appointed  place,  he  starts  up-stream 


202     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

along  the  banks  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and 
crosses  two  or  three  miles  higher  up.  There 
are  two  details  to  be  noted  :  first,  the  stratagem 
by  which  the  tiger  misleads  his  enemies  ;  and, 
second,  his  choice  of  a  crossing-place,  so  that  the 
alligator  would  have  to  swim  against  the  current 
to  get  at  him. 

Both  Leal  and  Valiente  had  the  true  cattle- 
breeder's  love  for  cattle,  which  to  them  are 
man's  best  friends. 

'  They  give  us  milk  and  meat  and  cheese,' 
Leal  would  say ;  *  they  help  us  to  cultivate  the 
ground,  and  their  very  presence  drives  away 
fevers,  mosquitoes,  and  miasmas.  We  and  the 
cattle  are  allies  against  the  boas,  the  tigers,  the 
snakes,  and  all  the  beasts  without  which  these 
lands  would  be  a  real  paradise.' 

The  tales  of  our  friends  sounded  most 
wonderful  in  Fermin's  ears.  He  was  a  towns- 
man, accustomed  to  bricks  and  mortar  ;  further- 
more, he  was  naturally  sceptical  as  to  all  that 
he  heard,  and  felt  rather  small  at  seeing  our 
men's  familiarity  with  things  and  manifesta- 
tions of  Nature  which  to  him  were  so  strange 
and  new. 

Fermin  came  from  the  city  of  Medellin,  where 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE    203 

he  had  spent  most  of  his  Hfe.  It  is  a  typical 
old  Spanish  town  of  the  central  tropical  belt. 
It  nestles  amongst  the  hills,  100  miles  from 
the  left  bank  of  the  Magdalena  River,  at  a 
height  of  about  4, 500  feet.  The  ground  around 
is  mountainous.  The  valley  is  small  and 
beautiful,  with  numberless  streams  coursing 
down  the  hills,  and  luxuriant  vegetation  in 
perpetual  bloom. 

Prior  to  this  journey,  Fermin's  travels  had 
never  taken  him  beyond  his  own  province. 
Like  all  Colombians,  he  had  been  a  soldier  at 
some  period  of  his  life,  a  '  volunteer '  of  the  type 
described  in  a  telegram  (very  well  known  in 
Colombia)  which  a  candid  or  witty — the  dis- 
tinction is  at  times  difficult — mayor  sent  to  a 
colleague  in  a  neighbouring  town  :  '  Herewith 
I  send  a  hundred  volunteers  ;  kindly  return  the 
ropes  !'  Having  joined  the  army  in  this  wise, 
it  is  not  strange  that  Fermin  left  it  as  soon  as 
he  could.  His  military  career  was  no  longer 
and  no  more  glorious  than  Coleridge's. 

Continental  Europeans  are  wont  to  grow 
amusingly  solemn  and  censorious  when  they 
hear  of  the  system  still  obtaining  in  many  parts 
of  Spanish  America  for  the  formation  of  armies 


204     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

which  are  chiefly  engaged  in  the  civil  wars  that 
devastate  those  countries  from  time  to  time  ; 
this  system  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the 
press-gang  method  practised  all  over  Europe 
not  so  long  ago.  But  between  this  press-gang, 
which  suddenly  compels  a  man  to  join  the  ranks 
destined  to  fight,  and  the  conscription,  which 
forces  him  into  the  army  whether  he  likes  it  or 
not,  I  can  only  see  a  difference  of  detail,  but 
none  in  essence.  Individual  liberty  is  as  much 
violated  in  the  one  case  as  in  the  other.  In 
both  cases  the  weak,  the  helpless,  and  the 
poor  are  the  prey  of  the  more  cunning  and  more 
powerful,  and  as  for  the  causes  at  stake,  what- 
ever the  name  or  pretext  may  be,  if  the  whole 
question  is  sifted,  greed  and  ambition  mas- 
querading under  some  conventional  high- 
sounding  name  will  be  found  to  be  the  real  and 
essential  motors.  Militarism  is  a  form  of 
exploitation  of  mankind  which  adds  human 
blood  to  the  ingredients  productive  of  gold  and 
power  to  others  ;  it  is  nothing  but  an  engine  of 
plunder  and  of  pride,  the  more  disgusting  on 
account  of  its  sleek  hypocrisy.  Your  money- 
lender frankly  tells  you  that  he  will  charge  you 
three,   four,   or  five  per  cent,  per  month,  and 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE    205 

despoil  you  of  house  and  home  if  you  cannot 
pay ;  this,  though  cruel,  is  frank  and  open  and 
above-board.  But  your  advocate  of  militarism 
will  despoil  you  like  the  cosmopolite  Jew, 
telling  you  that  glory  shall  be  yours,  that 
patriotism  and  the  holy  traditions  of  religion, 
the  dynasty,  the  empire,  or  the  nation,  as  the 
case  may  be,  are  at  stake,  and  that  it  is  necessary 
for  you  to  risk  your  skin  in  consequence.  With 
such  baubles  and  clownish  maunderings  men 
have  been  led  on,  and  are  still  being  led  on,  to 
cut  each  other's  throats  for  the  personal  benefit 
and  satisfaction  of  their  leaders,  who  give  them 
a  bit  of  ribbon  or  stamped  metal  if  they  survive 
and  have  luck.  Meanwhile  the  exploiters  sit 
safe  on  their  office  chairs,  pocket  the  shekels, 
and  chuckle  at  the  pack  of  fools,  the  smug 
middle-class  flunkies,  and  the  dirty,  bamboozled 
millions,  the  cannon  fodder,  fit  only  for  bayonet 
and  shrapnel. 

After  leaving  the  army,  Fermin,  who  by 
trade  was  a  journeyman  tailor,  had  joined  the 
remnants  of  a  wrecked  theatrical  company,  a 
group  of  strollers  travelling  through  the  towns 
and  villages  of  his  province,  and  giving  per- 
formances   from    the   modern  and   the  ancient 


2o6    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

Spanish  repertory,  to  the  enjoyment  and  the 
edification  of  the  natives. 

He  had  been  in  my  service  for  over  a  year, 
proving  himself  admirable  as  a  valet,  and 
certainly  very  plastic,  for  during  the  journey  he 
had  been  by  turns  muleteer,  amateur  paddler, 
fisherman,  hunter  and  cook. 

The  people  of  his  province,  a  hardy  moun- 
taineer race,  so  prolific  that  population  doubles 
itself  every  twenty-eight  years,  are  known  all 
over  Spanish  America  for  their  readiness  at 
repartee,  the  frequent  metaphors  that  brighten 
their  daily  speech,  and  a  knack  of  humorous 
exaggeration. 

Fermin,  referring  to  one  of  the  men  whose 
idleness  he  criticised,  said,  '  That  fellow  is  so 
lazy  that  he  cannot  even  carry  a  greeting!'  and 
talking  of  the  wonderful  climbing  ability  of 
a  certain  mule,  he  said  that,  if  it  could  only  find 
the  way,  it  would  reach  the  gates  of  heaven  and 
bray  in  the  ears  of  St.  Peter ! 

One  evening,  during  a  lull  in  the  conversa- 
tion, Fermin,  who  had  quietly  listened  to  tales 
of  fierce  tigers,  chivalrous  bulls,  alligators,  and 
many  other  natives  of  forest  or  stream,  burst 
forth,  saying  that  he  also  knew  of  some  wonderful 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE    207 

beasts  ;  but  I  prefer  to  quote  his  words  as  nearly 
as  possible. 

'  The  truth  is,'  said  he,  *  that  before  starting 
on  this  trip  I  knew  nothing  about  tigers,  alli- 
gators, boas,  and  so  forth,  except  from  picture- 
books.  I  had  even  thought  that  people  lied  a 
great  deal  about  those  animals,  but  sight  has 
now  convinced  me  of  their  existence.  I  have 
no  doubt  they  are  to  be  found  somewhere  in  my 
native  province,  but  it  is  not  about  them  that 
I  am  going  to  talk.  I  will  tell  you  something 
which  will  show  that  we,  too,  have  wonderful 
animals  in  our  part  of  the  country. 

'  Some  years  ago  I  was  the  first  lover  in 
a  theatrical  company  which,  though  modest  in 
its  pretensions,  scored  great  success  wherever 
it  played.  One  night,  in  the  mining  region  near 
the  Cauca  River,  we  were  forced  to  sleep  in  the 
very  shed  where  we  had  performed  the  comic 
opera  entitled  "  The  Children  of  Captain  Grant," 
a  most  popular  seafaring  tale  set  to  music. 

'  Mosquitoes  were  as  abundant  and  aggressive 
as  anywhere  in  the  world,  but  they  seemed  to 
me  to  have  far  stronger  lungs  than  those  of 
these  localities.  Anyhow,  there  was  a  specially 
sustained    high  -  sounding    ring   in    their   little 


2o8    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

trumpets,  so  that  they  formed  a  sort  of  orchestra 
beneath  the  moon. 

'  One  of  the  lady  artistes  held  the  doctrine 
that  life  was  sacred  in  all  its  manifestations  ; 
that  man  has  no  right  to  kill  any  animal,  how- 
ever small  it  may  be,  so  she  did  not  kill  the 
mosquitoes  that  swarmed  around  her,  but  tried 
to  blow  them  away  with  her  fan.  However, 
as  some  of  them  alighted  on  her  forehead  and 
on  her  hands,  she  would  take  them  carefully 
between  thumb  and  forefinger  and  place  them 
on  the  side  of  a  basin  half  filled  with  water, 
moistening  their  wings  so  that  they  stuck  and 
remained  harmless  for  the  time  being. 

*  The  smokers  amongst  us — all  the  men,  in 
fact — after  lighting  their  cigars  or  cigarettes, 
threw  their  wooden  matches  into  the  basin, 
a  necessary  precaution  lest  the  thatch-roofed 
shed  mitrht  catch  fire. 

'  In  the  earlier  part  of  the  night  the  mos- 
quitoes made  sleep  almost  impossible,  and  there 
we  lay  on  the  ground  or  upon  canvas  stretchers 
snoozing  and  tossing  about,  waiting  for  the  morn- 
ing. As  night  advanced,  with  the  arrival  of  a 
welcome  breeze,  they  seemed  to  diminish  in 
numbers.      I  began  to  doze,  but  was  awakened 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     209 

by  one  of  my  companions  who  called  my  atten- 
tion to  the  echo  of  distant  music,  sweet  and 
low,  a  harmony  of  lutes  and  soft  recorders, 
whose  sounds  were  wafted  on  the  wings  of 
the  night  air.  We  went  out  of  the  shed,  and 
the  sounds  ceased.  On  returning  to  it  we 
heard  the  melody  again.  This  was  a  mystery. 
Nearly  all  our  companions  were  asleep.  We 
were  determined  to  ascertain  whence  the  music 
came,  and,  on  investigation,  found  that  the 
blessed  mosquitoes,  placed  by  the  charitable 
and  humane  artiste  on  the  sides  of  the  basin, 
had  contrived  to  build  a  raft  with  the  fag-ends 
of  matches,  on  which,  waiting  for  their  wings 
to  dry  completely,  they  were  whiling  the  night 
away  gaily  singing  the  most  popular  ditty  in 
our  operetta,  descriptive  of  the  joys  of  life  on 
the  ocean  wave  ! 

'This  will  show  you,'  Fermin  added,  'that, 
though  we  have  neither  tigers,  nor  boas,  nor 
turtles,  nor  fighting  bulls,  nor  alligators,  in  our 
province,  our  mosquitoes  beat  all  yours  in  talent 
and  ability !' 


H 


CHAPTER  XVII 

Not  far  from  the  Atures  rapids,  we  stopped  at 
Puerto  Real,  a  short  curve  in  the  river  where 
the  waters  penetrate  into  a  sort  of  bay  justifying 
the  name  of  '  port,'  but  with  no  other  title  to 
it,  for  no  human  habitation,  not  even  the 
humblest  hut,  exists  on  either  shore.  Here 
the  canoes  were  laden  permanently,  as  the  river 
flowed  straight  to  the  ocean,  free  from  all  rapids 
except  at  a  few  narrow  places  where  the  current 
is  swifter.  These,  however,  did  not  call  for  the 
precautions  of  the  past  days. 

Leal  considered  his  task  at  an  end.  We 
were  on  the  open  Orinoco  in  the  Republic 
of  Venezuela,  and  in  the  hands  of  a  guide  as 
careful  and  expert  as  Gatiiio.  This  led  Leal 
to  return.  In  vain  did  we  seek  to  persuade 
him  to  accompany  us,  to  enter  Colombia  by  the 
Magdalena  River,  thence  to  Bogota,  and  then 
by  the  road  we  had  followed  to  San  Pedro  del 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     211 

Tua.  He  would  not  abandon  his  companions, 
and  decided  to  go  back  by  the  identical  route 
we  had  followed.  We  deeply  felt  parting  from 
that  noble  companion  whose  quiet,  unobtrusive 
courage,  whose  skilled  prudence  and  ready 
intelligence,  had  not  only  contributed  greatly 
to  our  comfort  during  the  ninety  odd  days  that 
he  had  been  with  us,  but  had  doubtless  saved 
our  lives  on  more  than  one  occasion. 

As  a  proof  of  the  extent  and  value  of  his 
services,  I  will  quote  a  letter  received  many 
months  after  in  Europe,  when,  in  the  midst  of 
modern  civilization,  the  events  and  occurrences 
of  my  journey  through  the  tropical  regions  of 
South  America  seemed  more  like  a  dream  than 
a  reality.  Alex,  who  had  returned  to  Bogota, 
wrote  as  follows  : 

'  I  have  just  received  a  letter  from  Leal, 
dated  from  his  home  at  San  Pedro  del  Tua. 
You  will  remember  that  he  left  us  with  fourteen 
of  our  men,  to  return  by  the  Vichada  and  the 
Meta.  On  the  very  day  of  their  departure, 
whilst  they  were  ascending  the  rapids,  and  we 
proceeded  on  our  journey  down-stream,  only 
a  few  hours  after  bidding  us  farewell,   one  of 

14 — 2 


212     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

the  two  canoes,  carrying  seven  men,  struck  the 
trunk  of  a  tree  lying  under  the  water,  and 
capsized.  The  men  were  all  good  swimmers, 
and  soon  overtook  the  canoe,  which  was  drifting 
with  the  stream.  After  a  good  deal  of  trouble, 
they  succeeded  in  turning  it  over.  Whilst  they 
were  getting  back  into  it,  they  were  attacked 
by  two  enormous  alligators  which  sought  to 
overturn  the  canoe,  striking  it  furiously  with 
their  tails.  One  of  the  sailors  was  struck  on 
the  head  and  stunned,  losing  his  grip,  and 
before  he  could  be  pulled  in  the  other  alligator 
cut  his  body  in  two,  as  if  with  a  saw,  crushing 
him  between  its  jaws,  so  that  the  man  was 
actually  devoured  in  the  very  presence  of  his 
companions.' 

On  reading  these  tragic  details,  I  felt  a  cold 
shiver  run  through  me,  like  a  man  who  sees 
lightning  strike  an  object  close  to  him,  or  feels 
a  murderous  bullet  whizz  past  his  head.  A 
retrospective  fear  seized  upon  me  at  the  thought 
of  the  many  nights  spent  on  the  lonely  beaches, 
and  the  numberless  times  that  our  canoes  had 
struck  submerged  rocks  or  trunks  of  trees. 
Surely  a  kind  Providence  had  watched  over  us 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A^CANOE    213 

during  that  long  journey.  '  The  child's  heart 
within  the  man's '  revived  in  me,  with  the  faith 
in  God  learnt  from  the  lips  of  my  mother,  and 
my  soul  went  to  her  who,  during  those  long, 
anxious  days,  had  prayed  night  and  day  to  Him 
above  for  the  safety  of  her  absent  son. 

Greatly  diminished  in  numbers,  we  continued 
downwards,  hoping  to  strike  some  camp  of 
tonga'  -  bean  -  gatherers,  the  harvest  season 
having  just  begun. 

If  the  Meta  had  seemed  large  and  mighty 
to  us,  the  Orinoco  bore  the  aspect  of  an  inland 
sea.  The  breezes  and  the  hurricanes  blow 
upon  its  billows  and  dash  them  into  surf  on 
the  bank  ;  the  trade-winds — our  old  friends  of 
the  Meta — reappeared  on  the  Orinoco,  only 
far  stronger  than  before.  One  would  say  that 
they  spend  their  force  in  the  long  journey,  and 
are  somewhat  weary  in  the  upper  regions.  It 
is  impossible  to  make  any  progress  in  the 
teeth  of  the  trade-wind.  With  a  stern  or  a 
side  wind  the  canoes  hoist  their  sails  and 
travel  with  the  speed  of  birds  on  the  wing. 
The  great  force  of  the  wind  is  generally  felt 
during  the  middle  hours  of  the  day  ;  it  lulls  in 
the  morning  and  afternoon. 


J 


214    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

Far  more  frequently  than  on  the  Meta  we 
were  forced  to  wait  for  hours  on  the  sandy 
desert  beaches,  or  close  in  to  the  shore  covered 
with  jungle,  waiting,  waiting  for  the  wind  to 
sink.  The  worst  feature  of  these  breezes  is 
that  they  raise  a  great  quantity  of  sand  to  a 
height  varying  from  2  to  3  feet. 

Cooking  becomes  impossible,  as  the  wind 
blows  the  fire  out,  scattering  the  embers 
and  the  logs,  and  unless  rocks  or  trees  be 
available  on  which  to  sit  at  a  certain  height, 
one  is  compelled  to  stand,  as  it  is  impossible 
to  breathe  the  air,  which  is  impregnated  with 
sand.  At  such  times  we  were  compelled  to 
make  our  meals  of  casabe  dipped  in  water,  and 
drink  more  freely  of  the  white  rum  which  took 
the  place  of  warmer  food  and  drink.  Once  we 
were  kept  thus  imprisoned  for  nearly  thirty 
hours  ;  our  helplessness  against  the  elements 
exercised  a  most  depressing  influence. 

The  tonga  bean,  called  in  Spanish  zarrapia, 
constitutes  a  most  important  article  of  trade,  and 
is  obtained  in  large  quantities  on  the  shore  of  the 
Orinoco  and  of  many  of  its  affluents  below  the 
rapids.  It  is  said  to  abound  also  in  the  Upper 
Orinoco,  but  there  it  is  seldom  gathered. 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     215 

The  tonga  -  tree  is  large  and  leafy,  very 
similar  to  the  mango  -  tree.  The  branches, 
which  spread  over  an  area  of  20,  30,  or  40  feet, 
are  covered  with  thick  foliage,  and  the  yield 
of  fruit  is  enormous.  The  fruit  resembles  the 
mango  in  shape  and  appearance.  Under  a 
sweet  pulp,  quite  palatable,  is  found  an  oval 
nut,  identical  with  that  of  the  mango,  and 
inside  this  nut,  which  has  the  consistency  of 
a  walnut,  is  encased  a  small  elongated  bean  of 
a  pink  colour.  It  soon  turns  dark  red  when 
exposed  to  air  and  sun.  The  trees  shed  the 
fruit  in  the  months  of  February  and  March  ; 
the  men  gather  it  from  the  ground,  clean  off 
the  pulp,  and  break  the  nut  with  stones.  This 
must  be  carefully  done  to  avoid  breaking  the 
bean,  which  is  then  placed  in  the  sun  on  dry, 
untanned  hides,  and  after  two  or  three  days 
packed  in  bags  ready  for  transportation. 

The  tonga  bean  is  chiefly  used  in  perfumery, 
and  is  a  very  good  substitute  for  vanilla. 

We  were  told  that  the  exports  averaged,  at  the 
prices  then  ranging,  a  yearly  output  of  ^100,000 
to  ^150,000.  I  understand  that  the  price 
has  fallen  considerably  of  late  years,  but  as 
the  gathering  costs  very  little,  and  the  trans- 


2i6    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

portation,  owing  to  the  numerous  waterways,  is 
cheap,  there  must  still  be  great  profits  in  the 
business. 

Traders  flock  from  the  different  parts  of  the 
river  to  certain  well-known  camps,  from  which 
they  branch  off  into  the  forests,  bringing  back 
the  bean  for  sale  to  the  camps.  Although  the 
Venezuelan  Government  has  more  than  once 
granted  special  privileges  and  monopolies  to 
individuals  and  companies  for  the  exploitation 
of  the  tonga  bean,  its  gathering  is  practically 
free,  as  it  would  be  next  to  impossible  to  watch 
over  such  vast  uninhabited  areas  where  men 
can  easily  conceal  themselves  in  the  forests. 

Our  progress  was  far  slower  than  before,  as 
we  generally  lost  half  a  day  waiting  for  the 
breeze  to  fall.  This  was  owing  principally  to 
the  size  of  our  canoes,  too  small  for  navigation 
in  a  high  wind. 

In  due  time  we  came  upon  the  first  camp,  a 
most  welcome  sight  to  our  eyes  ;  a  whole  village 
of  tents  stood  pitched  on  the  bank  of  the  river, 
and  upwards  of  twenty  or  thirty  canoes  were 
moored  along  the  shore.  Amongst  them  we 
saw  a  small  one-masted  schooner,  which  raised 
its  graceful  lines  above  the  surrounding  small 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE    217 

craft.  We  gazed  upon  it  with  covetous  eyes, 
and  decided  to  make  every  possible  effort  to 
acquire  it,  if  it  could  be  had  for  love  or  money. 

We  did  not  attract  any  attention  at  first  ; 
the  people  in  the  camp  thought  that  we  were 
tonga-bean-gatherers  like  themselves,  coming 
from  some  point  above  ;  but  they  showed  great 
interest  and  courtesy  on  hearing  that  we  came 
not  only  from  beyond  the  rapids,  but  from  the 
upper  affluents  of  the  Orinoco.  We  soon 
closed  a  bargain  for  the  schooner,  into  which 
we  transferred  our  belongings,  and  the  next  day 
the  three  small  sails  were  let  loose  to  the  very 
breeze  that,  during  the  past  few  days,  had 
nailed  us  to  the  shores. 

Besides  the  schooner,  we  obtained  a  supply 
of  provisions,  though  not  as  much  as  we 
wished.  The  traders  had  only  what  they 
needed,  and  were  loath  to  part  with  them, 
especially  as  we  were  going  towards  the  centres 
of  supply. 

In  the  course  of  a  day  or  two  we  stopped  at 
a  large  flat  island,  some  twelve  miles  in  length, 
as  we  were  told,  and  varying  from  two  to  four 
miles  in  breadth;  this  is  known  as  the  Beach  of 
Lard  {Play a  de  la  Ma/iteca).     This   island  is 


2i8    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

the  laying-place  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
turtles,  which  come  to  it  every  year  in  the  lay- 
ing season.  The  island  belongs  to  the  Govern- 
ment, who  place  a  small  detachment  of  soldiers 
to  watch  over  it.  The  traders  buy  the  right  of 
working  a  given  section  of  the  ground.  They 
dig  out  the  eggs,  from  which  the  oil  is  extracted. 
It  is  used  for  cooking,  and  is  a  substitute  for 
lard  and  butter — hence  the  name  of  the  beach. 

The  turtles  swarm  in  myriads,  and  are  forced 
by  those  coming  up  behind  them  to  go  further 
into  the  island.  After  laying  their  eggs  they 
seek  the  water,  but  are  so  numerous  that  it 
is  necessary  for  the  soldiers  and  traders  to  keep 
a  pathway  open,  otherwise  many  of  them  could 
not  get  back  to  the  river. 

It  is  a  marvel  to  see  countless  acres  of  ground 
covered  with  turtles  as  thick  as  the  stones  of  a 
pavement ;  and  the  fact  might  be  incredible  if 
it  were  not  vouched  for  by  so  many  travellers. 

A  turtle  lays,  according  to  its  size  and  age, 
from  fifty  to  three  or  four  hundred  eggs.  The 
men — traders  or  Government  agents — are  free 
to  take  as  many  turtles  as  they  like  ;  the  eggs 
are  the  only  article  of  barter  upon  which  a  price 
is  set. 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     219 

Some  idea  of  the  number  of  turtles  laying 
eggs  on  the  beach  may  be  gathered  from  the 
reckoning  of  a  French  traveller  who  investi- 
gated the  subject. 

The  oil  extracted  from  the  eggs  is  gathered 
in  demijohns  holding  on  an  average  seven  gallons 
each,  and  the  average  yield  of  a  good  year  is 
about  ten  thousand  demijohns.  Each  demijohn 
requires  from  four  to  five  thousand  eggs  ;  ten 
thousand  demijohns  represent  from  four  to  five 
millions,  which  means  that  there  must  be  from 
four  to  five  hundred  thousand  turtles.  The  tale 
seems  extravagant. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  we  took  in  as  large 
a  supply  of  turtles  and  of  eggs  as  we  could 
carry.  The  sailors  of  the  schooner  were  delighted 
at  the  prospect  of  turtle  meat  and  turtle  eggs 
ad  libitum.  The  eggs  are  boiled  in  salt  water, 
and  keep  for  a  practically  indefinite  period. 

The  capacity  for  eating  these  eggs  shown  by 
the  natives  of  those  regions  seems  to  be  un- 
limited. I  could  not  understand,  looking  at  the 
size  of  the  men  and  at  the  young  mountain  of 
turtle  eggs  before  which  they  sat,  and  which 
disappeared  after  a  period  of  sustained  assimi- 
lation, how  it  was  possible  that  they  did  not 


220    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

swell  outwardly  or  explode.  Here  was  a  case 
in  which  the  envelope  was,  to  all  purposes  and 
appearances,  smaller  than  the  contents  assimi- 
lated— a  problem  for  some  sapient  naturalist  to 
investigate  whenever  he  may  chance  to  stray 
into  those  remote  regions. 

It  is  said  that  the  turtle  yields  seven  kinds 
of  meat,  and  that  in  the  hands  of  a  good  cook 
it  is  transfigured  into  calf's  head,  veal,  tender 
loin  steak,  chicken,  venison,  pork,  and  (naturally) 
turtle  meat.  Be  that  as  it  may,  notwithstanding 
the  uncouth  and,  to  some,  repulsive  appearance 
of  the  animal,  it  is  evident  that  the  various  parts 
of  its  body  are  not  only  palatable,  but  may  be 
disguised  to  imitate  the  varieties  mentioned,  a 
peculiarity  which  in  its  turn  works  inversely,  as 
in  the  well-known  case  of  mock-turtle  soup. 

The  turtles  we  bought  were  placed  on  their 
backs,  which  seems  to  be  the  universal  method 
of  keeping  them  all  the  world  over.  There  in 
the  bottom  of  our  schooner  the  poor  beasts  had 
ample  opportunity  to  watch  the  flight  of  clouds 
by  day  and  the  grouping  of  the  constellations  by 
night.  I  fear,  however,  that  they  did  not  improve 
their  time  with  the  study  either  of  atmospherical 
changes  or  of  astronomical  wonders. 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     221 

Fermin  rapidly  learnt  how  to  cook  and  prepare 
turtles  in  the  various  native  ways,  to  which  he 
added  devices  of  his  own,  reminiscent  of  the 
preparation  of  other  meats  and  dishes  in  his 
native  province. 

The  change  of  diet  was  most  welcome  at 
first,  but  after  the  fourth  or  fifth  day  the  very 
name  of  turtle  was  revolting.  Fermin  was  told 
that,  if  nothing  else  but  turtle  was  to  be  found, 
we  preferred  to  fall  back  on  boiled  rice  and 
casabe.  Relying,  however,  on  his  ability  and 
the  protean  plasticity  of  turtle  meat,  he  insisted 
on  serving  some  of  it  as  wild-boar  flesh,  and 
only  upon  a  formal  threat  of  shooting,  or  being 
left  tied  to  the  trunk  of  a  tree  along  the  shore, 
like  a  new  Andromache,  did  he  cease  his  attempts 
to  deceive  our  palates.  Thus,  notwithstanding 
the  plentiful  supply  of  turtles  and  turtle  eggs, 
we  drifted  back  to  the  diet  of  casabe  boiled 
fish  and  boiled  rice. 

We  had  hoped  to  strike  some  cattle-farm, 
but  we  scanned  the  horizon  in  vain.  The 
plains  and  the  forests  rolled  before  our  eyes, 
an  interminable  blank  for  our  purposes. 

Finally,  as  everything  happens  at  last,  our 
expectation  was  gratified  ;  near  the  confluence 


222     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

of  our  old  friend  the  Meta  with  the  Orinoco, 
we  came  upon  a  cattle-ranch  where  we  obtained 
corn,  molasses,  eggs,  lard,  cheese,  coffee,  and 
the  whole  side  of  a  recently  slaughtered  heifer. 

I  can  readily  understand  that  persons  of  a 
delicate  taste,  should  they  happen  to  read  these 
awkwardly  penned  lines,  must  feel  disgusted 
at  the  recurrence  of  such  vulgar  and  material 
details.  Their  amazement  will  certainly  be 
great,  for  in  all  probability  they  will  be  sur- 
rounded by  all  the  comforts  and  the  luxury  of 
civilized  life.  There  is  no  harsher  censor  of 
the  misdeeds  or  faults  arising  out  of  somebody 
else's  hunger  than  the  drowsy  philosopher  who 
passes  judgment  in  a  comfortable  armchair  after 
a  plentiful  meal ;  his  untempted  rectitude  makes 
him  the  austerest  critic  of  failinofs  and  weak- 
nesses  in  others.  However,  the  opinion  of  those 
immaculate  beings,  with  their  hot-house  virtue, 
safe  from  wind  and  wet  behind  glass  panes, 
receives  precisely  the  attention  it  deserves. 

Still,  I  admit  that,  after  having  crossed  those 
regions,  it  were  better  if  I  could  describe  what 
I  saw  in  a  series  of  pen-pictures  which  would 
unroll  before  the  reader  in  sequence  or  har- 
monious groups  the  numerous  sublime  aspects 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE    223 

of  Nature ;  it  were  far  better  that,  even  as  the 
essence  retains  the  perfume  of  the  flower,  the 
written  word  should  convey  to  other  minds 
the  deep  impression  left  upon  my  own  by  the 
mysterious  murmuring  forest,  the  invisible  wind 
whose  breath  so  often  cooled  my  forehead,  the 
constant  throb  of  the  wandering  waves  pent 
within  their  narrow  channels,  the  infinite  azure 
of  the  sky,  and  the  numberless  sounds  and 
rumours,  now  soft,  now  deafening,  which  fill 
the  air  in  that  world  still  free  from  the  burden 
of  civilization,  living  the  life  of  untrodden 
Nature,  a  link  in  the  endless  chain  of  existence 
ravening  on  death,  with  the  great  drama  of 
being  made  manifest  in  a  thousand  diverse 
shapes. 

Happy  were  I  could  I  seize  one  single  note 
from  that  vast  symphony,  capture  it,  and  fix  it 
/ with  my  words !     Vain  wishes! 

We  passed  from  those  solitudes,  leaving  no 
more  trace  behind  us  than  the  clouds  in  the 
sky,  and  although  the  impression  of  the  great- 
ness and  the  majesty  of  Nature  sank  deeply 
into  my  heart,  so  that  at  times  my  soul,  return- 
ing to  the  days  of  the  past,  loses  itself  in  the 
depths  of  the  forests  and  the  summits  of  the 


224     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

mountains,  follows  the  course  of  the  rivers,  or 
bathes  itself  in  the  pure  atmosphere  of  the  free 
and  boundless  plain,  whenever  I  seek  to  utter 
my  inmost  feelings,  so  that  others  may  feel  and 
understand  with  me,  only  the  faintest  shadow 
of  my  thought  falls  on  the  blank  page.  The 
gift  of  seeing  and  of  feeling,  and  of  creating 
what  we  have  felt  and  seen  so  that  others  in 
their  turn  may  feel  a  similar  impression,  has 
been  given  by  the  Almighty  only  to  those  few 
chosen  artists  and  men  of  genius  who  throw 
upon  the  work  which  they  create  '  the  light 
that  never  was  on  land  or  sea.'  I  must  perforce 
limit  myself  to  the  humble  narrative  of  our  daily 
life.  I  have  no  higher  ambition  in  writing  these 
pages,  and  I  shall  be  fortunate  if  I  meet  with 
readers  who  understand  my  motive. 

The  schooner  took  us  down  to  La  Urbana 
(a  settlement  with  urban  pretensions) ;  it  boasts 
some  adobe  houses  covered  with  tiles,  and  a 
small  church.  Here  we  abandoned  the  schooner, 
and  were  obliged  to  take  to  a  far  smaller  canoe 
— large  enough,  however,  for  navigation  on  the 
Orinoco — in  which  we  proceeded  to  Caicara. 
where  we  expected  to  meet  the  steamers  plying 
between  Ciudad  Bolivar  and  the  Apure  River. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

The  journey  from  La  Urbana  to  Caicara  passed 
off  without  any  incident.  On  jumping  ashore 
at  this  latter  point  we  hoped  that  we  were 
leaving  our  canoes  for  good,  and  that  the  rest 
of  the  journey  to  Ciudad  Bolivar  would  take 
place  by  steam. 

The  people  received  us  very  kindly,  and, 
though  the  town  was  far  from  modern  or  rich, 
we  enjoyed  some  comforts  that  we  had  lacked 
during  the  long  journey  which  lay  behind  us. 
/  Though  eight  weeks  had  passed  since  the 
news  of  the  death  of  the  Governer  of  San 
Carlos  had  reached  Maipures,  nothing  was 
known  about  it  at  Caicara.  This  will  give  an 
idea  of  the  abandonment  in  which  those  vast 
territories  are  left  by  those  under  whose  political 
authority  they  live.  Grave  international  com- 
plications with  the  neighbouring  States  might 

15 


226    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

arise  from  disturbances  like  that  at  San  Carlos, 
and  yet  the  news  had  only  come  down  by 
mere  chance,  brought  by  travellers  who  had 
no  personal  interest  in  it. 

Finding  that  there  was  no  certainty  as  to 
the  steamers  likely  to  touch  at  Caicara,  we 
reluctantly  decided  to  take  again  to  the  slow 
and  sure  method  of  canoeing,  rather  than  wait 
for  him  who  had  not  promised  to  come,  and 
thus  we  proceeded  on  our  journey  in  the  same 
canoes  that  we  had  imagined  we  were  abandon- 
ing once  for  all  two  days  before.  A  feeling  of 
discontent  began  to  possess  us.  It  was  not  that 
we  were  dissatisfied  with  the  kind  of  life,  nor 
that  we  had  become  over-sensitive  to  the  priva- 
tions inherent  to  it,  nor  that  we  complained  of 
being  plain  squires  compelled  to  adopt  the 
practices  of  knight-errants,  such  as  not  eating 
off  linen,  nor  sleeping  on  comfortable  couches, 
nor  under  roof  of  house  or  mansion  ;  no,  our 
great  longing  arose  at  the  thought  of  those  far 
away  in  the  civilized  world,  to  whom  our  long 
silence  must  necessarily  be  a  source  of  anxiety. 
For  the  rest,  however,  the  life  we  were  leading 
had  become  a  sort  of  second  nature,  and  we 
found  it  by  no  means  disagreeable.      We  ate 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE    227 

with  healthy  appetites,  and  when  night  came, 
stretched  on  our  matting,  we  heedlessly  let  the 
wind  fold  its  wings  or  shriek  into  madness, 
whilst  the  river  either  murmured  gently  along 
like  a  stream  across  the  green  meadow  or 
lashed  into  fury  like  a  lion. 

We  rowed  or  sailed  as  the  river  and  the 
wind  permitted,  gaining  ground  without  the 
loss  of  an  available  minute,  with  the  tenacity 
of  one  who  has  a  given  task  to  accomplish, 
and  wants  to  perform  it  with  the  least  possible 
delay.  One  night,  shortly  after  halting,  a 
shudder  of  delight  ran  through  us  on  hearing 
one  of  the  men  exclaim,  '  Steamer  coming !' 
We  turned  in  the  direction  pointed  out  by  him, 
but  saw  nothing.  However,  we  had  learnt  by 
that  time  to  trust  to  the  keener  senses  of  the 
natives.  Shortly  afterwards,  with  ear  to  ground, 
we  heard,  or  thought  we  heard,  a  far-off  in- 
distinct vibration  as  of  the  paddles  of  a  steamer 
striking  the  water.  The  sound  soon  became 
unmistakable.  Here  was  an  unexpected  redemp- 
tion. From  sheer  joy  we  ceased  the  prepara- 
tions for  our  evening  meal.  To  attract  the 
attention  of  those  on  board  the  steamer  the 
bonfires  were  piled  up  high,  and,  to  leave  no 

^5— ^ 


228     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

possible  loophole  to  adverse  fate,  Alex  and 
four  of  the  men  sailed  into  mid-stream,  so  as  to 
be  quite  close  to  the  craft.  Soon  it  loomed 
majestic  and  welcome  to  our  eyes.  The  pennant 
of  whitish  smoke  rose  in  the  still  blue  night, 
and  floated  as  a  signal  of  welcome.  The  boat 
advanced  steadily  ;  we  could  see  the  people  on 
board.  That  rather  undersized  vessel  was  to 
us,  for  the  moment,  the  great  in  fact,  the  only — 
steamer  in  the  world.  We  fired  our  revolvers. 
Alex  and  his  men  bawled  themselves  hoarse. 
No  sign  of  recognition  came  from  the  steamer 
as  she  ploughed  on  swiftly,  relentlessly,  dis- 
dainfully, soon  to  be  lost  in  the  distance.  This 
was  wanton  cruelty,  and,  as  we  thought  at  the 
time,  a  sin  against  human  nature.  Our  feelings 
were  not  such  as  might  be  commended  to  the 
attention  and  imitation  of  Sunday-school  chil- 
dren !  Our  language  was  decidedly  '  unfit  for 
publication.'  According  to  the  reckoning  of  our 
men,  which  events  proved  accurate,  we  should 
require  twelve  days  more  to  reach  Ciudad 
Bolivar,  whilst  the  steamer,  sailing  day  and 
night  as  it  could,  even  against  the  breeze, 
would  cover  the  distance  in  forty-eight  or  sixty 
hours.     It  is  well  that  we  possessed  no  magic 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE    229 

powers  enabling  us  to  destroy,  as  if  with  a 
thunder-bolt,  for  in  that  case  the  steamer  would 
not  have  reached  its  destination.  So  it  generally 
happens  in  life  when  the  action  of  others  foils 
our  little  plans  or  obstructs  our  way.  Looking 
solely  to  our  own  side  of  the  question,  we  are 
apt  to  make  no  allowance,  and  attribute  to  utter 
perversity  what  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
other  side  may  be  perfectly  reasonable.  As 
revolutions  are  frequent  in  those  latitudes,  and 
as  steamers  had  on  several  occasions  been 
seized  by  parties  of  men  ambushed  on  the 
shore,  the  captain  of  the  steamer  probably 
thought  that  prudence  and  caution  were  his 
safest  guides.  He  may  have  believed  that, 
besides  the  small  group  which  he  saw  in  the 
canoe  and  on  the  shore,  a  formidable  host 
might  be  lurking  in  the  forest,  and  under 
those  circumstances  his  behaviour  is  perfectly 
intelligible. 

As  we  approached  the  end  of  our  journey, 
our  impatience  and  anxiety  grew  keener.  Up 
to  that  time  we  had  never  lost  our  equanimity, 
and  now,  when  we  could  reckon  with  a  fair 
degree  of  accuracy  the  date  of  our  arrival  at 
Ciudad  Bolivar,  the  smallest  obstacle  or  deten- 


230    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

tion  irritated  us  beyond  measure.  Yet  all 
things  end.  On  April  20  we  arrived  at  a 
small  outlying  village  three  hours  from  Ciudad 
Bolivar. 

Our  approach  to  a  civilized  community 
awakened  slumbering  feelings  of  vanity,  and 
for  the  first  time  during  many  months  we  be- 
thought ourselves  of  our  appearance.  I  had 
an  authentic  mane  on  my  head  ;  our  beards 
were  thick  and  bushy  as  the  jungle  on  the 
banks  of  the  river.  Such  clothes  as  we  had 
could  hardly  have  passed  muster  under  the 
eyes  of  the  most  lenient  critic.  Most  of  those 
that  we  possessed  at  starting  had  been  left  be- 
hind amongst  the  Indians,  in  payment  of  work, 
and  what  little  remained  had  not  been  improved 
by  the  moisture  of  the  climate.  On  taking 
stock,  I  soon  found  that  my  dress  coat  and 
trousers  —  evolved  by  some  London  artist — 
were  the  only  decent  clothes  left  to  me  ;  yet  I 
could  not  screw  up  courage  to  don  them,  as  I 
feared  that  if,  after  several  months'  journey 
through  the  wildest  regions  of  South  America, 
I  jumped  ashore  at  noonday  on  the  banks  of 
the  Orinoco  in  a  swallow-tail,  the  authorities 
would  probably  provide  me  with  free  board  and 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     231 

lodging  in  some  cool  lunatic  asylum !  We  con- 
soled ourselves  with  the  thought  that  we  were 
clean,  and  thus  near  to  godliness,  and  that  we 
could  soon  replace  our  patched  and  tattered 
clothes  at  Ciudad  Bolivar. 

I  have  forgotten  to  mention  our  visit  to  the 
cattle  estates  of  General  Crespo,  at  that  time 
President  of  Venezuela,  a  typical  son  of  the 
llanos.  These  estates  had  a  frontage  of  twenty- 
five  leagues  along  the  river,  and  extend  Heaven 
only  knows  how  far  into  the  interior.  The 
manager,  or  major-domo,  told  us  that  the  herds 
on  those  estates  numbered  upwards  of  200,000 
head  of  cattle.  The  figure  appears  fantastic, 
but  the  fact  that  at  that  time  1,500  three-year-old 
bullocks  were  exported  monthly  to  the  neigh- 
bouring West  India  Island,  principally  Trini- 
dad, may  serve  as  a  basis  for  calculation. 

On  that  eventful  20th  of  April  the  breeze  blew 
tantalizingly  against  us,  yet  we  would  not  be 
detained,  and  decided  to  advance  in  its  very 
teeth.  The  men  jumped  ashore  and  pulled  the 
canoes  with  ropes.  The  city,  built  as  upon 
a  terrace,  soon  appeared  in  the  distance,  its 
white,  red-roofed  houses  standing  out  under 
the  clear  sky  like  dabs  of  paint  upon  a  blue 


232     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

canvas.      Behind  the  town  the  hill  continued -to 
rise,  and  opposite  the  city  the  river  itself,  en- 
cased into  a  narrow  space,  is  only  one-third  of 
a  mile   broad.      It  was  a  delight  to  look  once 
more  on  houses,  towers  and  churches,  and  other 
signs   of  civilized  life.     The  sight  was  an  en- 
chantment after  the  eternal  panorama  of  forest, 
mountain,  plain  and  river.     We  had  a  feeling 
akin  to  that  of  Columbus  and  his  companions 
when  the  watch  shouted  '  Land !   land ! '     We 
could  echo  those  words  in  their  full  significance. 
The   struggle    was   at   an    end  ;    river,    forest, 
rapids,   fevers,  wild  beasts,    poisonous  snakes, 
savages,  and  all  the  obstacles  that  lay  behind 
us,  were  over,   leaving   no   further   trace  than 
the  dust  along  the   roads  or  the   foam  of  the 
waves   on   the  sands.     Thanks  to  the   Divine 
protection,  we  had  reached  the  end  of  an  ad- 
venturous journey  full  of  possibilities  of  mishap 
and  of  danger,  and  all  that  had  taken  place  was 
simply  as  a  memory  in  our  minds. 

We  attracted  great  attention  on  landing,  and 
were  soon  installed  in  one  of  the  good  hotels 
of  the  towns.  We  stared  with  something  like 
wonderment  at  mirrors,  tables,  sofas,  as  at  so 
many  good  old  friends  from  whom  we  had  been 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     233 

long  separated.  In  us,  primitive  man  had  very- 
soon  reasserted  full  sway,  and  we  had  to  make 
some  effort  to  return  to  the  habits  and  customs 
of  civilized  life.  As  soon  as  we  could,  we 
placed  ourselves  in  the  hands  of  a  barber  in 
the  town.  He  had  been  told  of  our  great  store 
of  luggage,  and,  inquisitive  as  all  men  of  his 
profession  are,  on  hearing  one  of  us  humming 
for  very  joy  under  his  razor  and  shears,  asked 
(I  know  not  whether  in  innocence  or  banter): 
*  How  many  of  you  are  in  the  company,  and 
what  opera  are  you  going  to  begin  with  ?* 
To  this  I  replied  :  '  We  are  not  an  opera  com- 
pany, but  a  circus,  and  our  performances  will 
begin  shortly  ;  we  are  on  the  look-out  for  a 
clown.'  He  did  not  proceed  with  his  cross- 
examination. 

Ciudad  Bolivar  is  famous  in  the  annals  of 
Venezuelan  and  Colombian  history.  It  bears 
the  name  of  the  emancipator  of  those  regions. 
Formerly  it  was  called  Angostura,  which  means 
'the  Narrows.'  In  18 19  one  of  the  first 
Colombian  Congresses  was  held  at  that  city, 
and  its  deliberations,  which  soon  crystallized 
into  action,  brought  about  the  expulsion  of  the 
Spaniards  after  a  daring  and  sanguinary  series 


234     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

of  campaigns.  The  very  men  who  sat  at 
Ciudad  Bolivar,  300  miles  from  the  shores  of 
the  Atlantic,  ended  their  military  campaign  on 
the  plateau  of  Ayacucho  in  1824,  having 
marched  thousands  of  leagues  across  plain  and 
forests,  snow-capped  mountains,  precipices, 
jungle,  fighting  for  every  inch  of  ground  against 
the  stubborn  soldiers  of  Spain  in  one  of  the 
most  heroic  and  tenacious  struggles  on  both 
sides  that  are  to  be  found  in  the  annals  of 
history. 

The  river,  as  I  have  stated  before,  narrows 
after  its  long  pilgrimage,  and,  even  as  a  regiment 
which  closes  its  ranks,  rolls  its  waves  in  denser 
array  opposite  the  city.  No  sooner  does  it 
reach  the  outside  limits  than  it  broadens  again, 
and,  after  running  through  fertile  plains  and 
swampy  valleys  for  a  distance  of  600  kilometres, 
reaches  the  sea.  The  normal  depth  opposite 
Ciudad  Bolivar  is  120  metres.  During  the 
rainy  season  the  level  rises  from  10  to  20 
metres. 

Verily  the  Orinoco  is  a  living,  wandering  sea 
of  fresh  water  gathered  from  the  northern  plains 
of  South  America,  which  forms  the  tribute  of 
those  lands  to  the  Atlantic   Ocean.     We  had 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE    235 

just  followed  it  in  its  pilgrimage  for  a  long  part 
of  its  course.  We  had  known  it  in  tempest  and 
in  calm  ;  we  had  watched  the  dawn  gilding  its 
throbbing  waters  or  the  twilight  covering  them 
with  flickering  shadows  ;  we  had  listened  to  the 
whispering  of  the  winds  and  the  roar  of  the 
hurricane  along  its  shores  ;  we  had  seen  the 
monsters  which  roam  in  its  waters,  admired  the 
river's  Titanic  sport,  dashing  In  the  rapids,  or 
its  majestic  quiet  in  the  deep  basins  of  granite 
where  the  current  seems  to  rest  before  leaping 
in  a  wild  onslaught  through  the  canons ;  and 
now  we  saw  it  majestically  unroll  before  our 
eyes  in  the  august  pageant  of  its  last  procession 
to  the  ocean.  We  could  not  but  think  that, 
if  that  great  artery  of  palpitating  life  which 
vibrates  through  the  centre  of  the  continent  had 
stood  us  in  such  good  service,  its  possibilities 
for  the  development  of  those  vast  unknown 
territories,  when  once  appreciated  by  humanity, 
were  practically  unlimited.  To  our  mind's  eye, 
prophetic  with  desire,  the  vast  solitudes  we  had 
left  behind  became  resonant  glad  with  the 
presence  of  myriads  of  men  ;  the  forests  were 
cleared,  the  plains  tilled,  and  a  happy  and 
prosperous  nation,  the  outcome  of  the  present 


236    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

struggling  democracies  that  own  those  lands, 
increased  by  swarms  of  immigrants  from  distant 
overcrowded  countries,  reared  its  cities  and 
towns  along  the  banks  of  the  river  which,  in  its 
immutable,  defiant  majesty  and  power,  still 
rolled  to  the  sea,  serving  men,  but  remaining  a 
bond  of  union,  a  mighty  link  between  the 
Cordilleras  and  the  ocean. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

I  HAVE  thus  far  sought  to  give  an  idea  of  my 
personal  impressions  during  a  journey  most 
memorable  to  me;  and  I  am  aware  that  I  bring 
no  new  or  useful  contribution  from  a  scientific 
point  of  view.  We  had  no  instruments  of 
observation,  not  even  an  ordinary  every-day 
compass,  enabling  us  to  fix  the  cardinal  points 
with  certainty.  Furthermore,  had  we  possessed 
more  complicated  instruments,  we  were  too 
ignorant  to  use  them.  Let  these  remarks  be 
borne  in  mind  should  errors  of  appreciation  be 
noticed,  as  certainly  they  exist,  in  this  disjointed 
narrative. 

We  wandered  on  with  the  definite  aim  of 
reaching  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Beyond  that  we 
did  not  venture  to  scrutinize  too  deeply  the 
mysterious  and  wonderful  manifestations  of 
Nature,  but  took  them  as  they  appeared  to  our 


238    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

limited  means  of  vision  and  understanding,  and 
sought  nothing  beyond. 

However,  before  closing  these  pages,  assum- 
ing that  some  kind  reader's  patience  may  have 
enabled  him  to  accompany  me  thus  far,  it  may 
not  be  amiss  to  give  some  accurate  data  which 
I  take  from  the  admirable  monograph  entitled 
*  South  America  :  an  Outline  of  its  Physical 
Geography,'  published  in  the  Geographical 
Journal  of  April,  1901,  by  Colonel  George 
Earl  Church,  a  book  which  might  be  called 
'  South  America  in  a  Nutshell,'  wonderfully 
accurate  and  concise,  and  worthy  of  the  highest 
praise. 

The  total  length  of  the  Orinoco  is  about  1,500 
miles,  but  if  measured  by  its  Guaviari  branch 
it  is  several  hundred  miles  longer.  It  reaches 
its  maximum  height  in  August.  To  its  point  of 
junction  with  the  Guaviare  it  takes  a  north-west 
course.  Ninety  miles  before  its  union  with  that 
stream  it  receives  its  principal  eastern  affluent, 
the  Ventuario.  From  the  Guaviare  it  runs 
north  nearly  as  far  as  the  Apure,  where  it 
suddenly  turns  east.  Between  the  Guaviare 
and  the  Meta  the  course  of  the  river  is 
obstructed    by    the     Maipures    Rapids,    which 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE    239 

extend  for  a  length  of  four  miles,  with  a  total 
fall  of  about  40  feet.  Below  this  the  Atures 
Rapids  cover  a  distance  of  about  six  miles, 
falling  about  30  feet.  Navigation  is  then 
free  for  about  700  miles,  as  far  as  the  rapids  of 
Cariben,  within  six  miles  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Meta.  The  river  at  this  point  is  about  a  mile 
wide.  Its  course  continues  to  the  north,  and  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Apure  it  is  two  miles  wide  in  the 
dry  season,  and  about  seven  when  in  flood.  At 
Cariben  it  rises  32  feet;  but  at  the  Angostura,  or 
'Narrows,'  372  miles  from  the  sea,  it  has  risen 
to  60  feet.  It  enters  the  sea  by  its  main  trunk, 
the  Boca  Grande.  About  100  miles  above  its 
mouth  it  throws  off  a  branch  northward  to  the 
Gulf  of  Paria,  also  100  miles  in  length.  Six 
other  considerable  arms  find  their  way  to  the 
ocean  across  a  vast  delta  about  7,000  square 
niiles  in  area.  The  Boca  Grande  is  the  deepest 
and  main  navigable  entrance  at  all  seasons,  the 
muddy  bar  usually  maintaining  a  depth  of 
16  feet.  The  basin  of  the  Orinoco  covers  an 
area  of  364,500  square  miles. 

The  principal  affluents  flowing  from  the 
Andean  slopes  are  the  Apure,  the  Arauca,  the 
Meta,  and  the  Guaviare. 


240    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

The  Apure  is  695  miles  long,  of  which  564 
are  navigable.  The  Apure  in  its  turn  receives 
numerous  tributaries,  some  of  which  are  navig- 
able for  short  distances. 

The  Arauca,  the  Meta  and  the  Guaviare,  are 
also  navigable. 

The  Casiquiare  Canal  unites  the  upper 
Orinoco  with  the  Rio  Negro  branch  of  the 
Amazon.  It  is  about  300  miles  long,  with  an 
average  depth  of  30  feet,  and  has  a  strong 
current  in  the  direction  of  the  Negro.  The  list 
of  affluents  of  the  Orinoco  and  of  its  tributaries 
would  be  a  very  long  one,  and  would  serve  no 
useful  purpose  here. 

Evidently  the  Orinoco  and  the  Orinoco 
system,  with  their  innumerable  ramifications  in 
all  directions,  form  a  basis  for  the  easy  exploita- 
tion of  the  vast  sources  of  natural  wealth  which 
exist  in  the  immense  territory  through  which 
their  waters  flow. 

That  territory  lies  within  the  borders  of  the 
Republics  of  Colombia  and  Venezuela.  Up 
to  the  present  neither  nation  has  seriously 
attempted  to  utilize  the  valuable  elements  so 
bountifully  offered  by  Nature.  In  the  matter 
of    navigation,   ocean-going   steamers  sail   fre- 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     241 

quently  as  far  as  Ciudad  Bolivar.  From  this 
latter  point  river  steamers  ply  once  or  twice 
a  month  up  the  Orinoco,  turning  into  the  Apure 
as  far  as  San  Fernando  de  Apure,  and  during 
the  tonga-bean  harvest  follow  the  course  of  the 
main  river  generally  as  far  as  the  Caura,  where 
the  harvesters  established  their  central  camps 
a  good  many  years  ago.  An  effort  was  made 
to  establish  navigation  on  the  Orinoco  and  its 
affluents  above  the  rapids,  and  also  to  run 
small  steamers  in  the  navigable  part  between 
the  Atures  and  Maipures  rapids ;  but  the  French 
company,  which  held  a  charter  practically  placing 
the  whole  region  at  its  disposal,  failed  of  its 
object,  after  spending  a  considerable  amount  of 
money.  During  our  journey,  in  several  places 
we  could  see,  rotting  in  the  sun,  the  remnants 
of  broken-down  steamers,  which  appeared 
uncanny  objects  in  those  surroundings.  The 
rapids,  acting  as  a  barrier,  have  deterred  traders 
and  explorers.  The  upper  part  of  the  Orinoco 
is  the  most  abundant  in  natural  wealth.  As 
I  have  had  occasion  to  note  in  these  pages, 
mdia-ruhher,  ptasada,  tonga  bean,  resinous  and 
medicinal  plants,  are  found  in  practically  un- 
limited quantities  along   the  shores  of  all  the 

16 


242     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

rivers  above  the  rapids,  and  the  small  propor- 
tion which  is  gathered  is  generally  shipped 
through  the  Rio  Negro  by  way  of  the  Amazon, 
as  traders  prefer  that  long  and  tedious  journey 
to  the  difficulties  of  the  Orinoco  Rapids. 

Yet  to  give  life  to  the  Orinoco,  to  establish 
a  stream  of  natural  products  down  its  waters, 
and  to  facilitate  the  opening  of  the  forests  and 
mountains  beyond  the  rapids,  it  would  not  be 
necessary  to  carry  out  work  of  a  very  stupendous 
nature,  beyond  the  resources  of  the  peoples  and 
the  nations  most  interested  in  the  work.  A 
cursory  glance  at  the  elements  of  the  problem 
reveals  the  possibility  of  carrying  out  a  plan, 
the  general  outlines  of  which  might  be  the 
following  : 

A  line  of  steamers  should  be  established 
plying  at  least  twice  a  month  between  Ciudad 
Bolivar  and  the  highest  accessible  point  for 
navigation  below  the  Atures  Rapids. 

The  old  road  along  the  rapids,  which  extended 
from  that  highest  point  of  navigation  to  beyond 
Maipures  where  the  river  is  again  free  and 
open,  should  be  reconstructed.  A  railway  could 
be  built  along  either  shore,  the  ground  being 
mostly  level  and  hard.     It  would  not  be  neces- 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE    243 

sary  to  undertake  great  engineering  works,  and 
the  road-bed  itself  would  require  neither  deep 
cuttings  nor  terracing,  nor  expensive  culverts 
and  works  of  drainage,  and  the  few  bridges 
required,  being  of  short  span,  would  not  run 
into  high  figures. 

Steam  navigation  should  also  be  established 
beyond  the  rapids  on  the  rivers  forming  the 
upper  basin.  This  could  be  done  at  first  by 
means  of  small  steam-launches  such  as  are  used 
in  the  affluents  of  the  Amazon  River,  but  the 
service  should  be  carried  out  faithfully  and 
periodically,  even  though  at  first  freight  and 
passengers  were  lacking.  People  in  Spanish 
America  are  generally  very  sceptical  as  to 
these  enterprises,  but  once  a  feeling  of  con- 
fidence was  created,  explorers  would  flock 
both  from  Colombia  and  from  Venezuela,  as 
they  would  know  that  they  would  have  an 
outlet  for  whatever  products  they  might 
gather. 

The  Indians  on  the  Vichada,  and  even  those 
on  the  Meta,  would  supply  abundant  labour, 
and  the  exports  of  natural  products  would  soon 
furnish  all  the  freight  that  might  be  desired  to 
make  the  whole  arrangement  of  steamers  above 

16 — 2 


244     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

and  below  the  rapids,  and  the  railway  along  the 
same,  a  paying  concern. 

A  line  of  steamers  should  also  follow  the 
course  of  the  Meta  River  as  far  as  La  Cruz, 
a  port  situated  about  ninety  miles  from  Bogota, 
thus  tapping  the  import  and  export  trade  of  the 
most  thickly-populated  region  of  Colombia,  the 
inhabitants  of  which  in  the  three  provinces  of 
Santander,  BoyacA,  and  Cundinamarca,  are  over 
1,500,000  in  number. 

Supposing  four  steamers  to  be  needed  for 
navigation  on  the  lower  river  and  on  the  Meta, 
to  be  bousfht  at  Ciudad  Bolivar  at  a  cost  of 
^10,000  each,  ^40,000  would  be  required  under 
this  head.  Taking  the  length  of  the  railway 
at  60  kilometres,  including  the  bridges,  at  a 
cost  of  ^2,000  per  kilometre,  ^120,000  would 
be  required  for  the  railway ;  and  supposing  that 
ten  small  steam-launches  of  twenty  to  thirty 
tons  burden  were  started  for  the  rivers  on  the 
upper  basin,  ;^20,ooo  would  be  required — in  all, 
;^  1 80,000  for  the  whole  undertaking. 

The  preceding  figures  are  not  imaginative, 
and  might,  perhaps,  be  reduced  in  actual 
practice.  If  it  has  been  possible  to  raise  the 
capital  required  for  the  construction  of  a  rail- 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE    245 

way  of  upwards  of  200  kilometres  in  length 
along  the  shores  of  the  Congo,  where  climate, 
distance,  and  natives  combine  to  establish  far 
more  serious  obstacles  than  exist  on  the 
Orinoco,  should  it  not  be  possible  to  find 
the  capital  for  the  establishment  of  modern 
means  of  transportation  in  a  region  which 
offers  far  brighter  and  surer  prospects  than 
the  Congo  ?  Let  it  be  remembered  that  from 
Colombia  and  from  Venezuela  civilized  white, 
coloured  and  Indian  labour  could  be  found  in 
abundance,  and  that  Europeans  engaged  in  the 
undertaking,  and  provided  with  steamers,  could 
in  two  days,  if  on  the  Meta,  reach  the  high 
and  healthy  plateaus  of  Bogota  and  find  them- 
selves in  a  civilized  community  where  they 
would  lack  none  of  the  luxuries  or  comforts 
of  their  own  land ;  and  that  in  the  Lower 
Orinoco  they  would  have  Ciudad  Bolivar,  to 
which  the  same  remarks,  barring  the  advantage 
of  climate,  may  be  applied.  The  two  Govern- 
ments of  Colombia  and  Venezuela,  equally 
interested  in  the  development  of  the  Orinoco 
basin,  might  unite  their  efforts  and  guarantee 
in  a  form  satisfactory  to  European  capitalists 
the  paltry  yearly  amount  required  to  pay  the 


245     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

service  of  interest  and  sinking  fund  on  the 
^180,000.  Taking  tiie  interest  at  6,  with  a 
sinking  fund  of  i  per  cent.,  ^^  12,600  yearly 
would  be  required — that  is  to  say,  ^6,300  for 
each  Government.  I  know  that  at  the  present 
moment  such  a  task  would  be  well-nigh  impos- 
sible, but  I  also  know  that  if  a  sincere  effort 
were  made,  notwithstanding  the  universal  feeling 
of  distrust,  it  would  be  possible  to  create  securi- 
ties specially  applicable  to  this  purpose,  which 
would  satisfy  the  most  exacting  capitalist. 

In  the  midst  of  the  daily  turmoil  and  agitation 
and  sanguinary  struggle  which  constitutes  the 
life  of  those  democracies,  these  problems,  urgent 
and  vital  as  they  are,  pass  unheeded  ;  and  the 
more  the  pity,  for  in  their  solution  lies  the 
basis  of  a  permanent  peace.  Prosperity  begets 
abhorrence  of  internal  revolutions.  The  de- 
velopment of  Mexico  is  a  case  in  point,  from 
which  Colombia  and  Venezuela  might  take 
heed.  Woe  to  them  if  they  do  not  I  The 
world  begins  to  sicken  at  the  very  mention 
of  the  constant  strife  which  converts  into  a 
positive  hell  those  regions  where  Nature  has 
shown  herself  prodigal  beyond  measure  in  all 
her  gifts.     Not  only  the  valley  of  the  Orinoco, 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE    247 

with  its  boundless  prairies,  its  dense  forests, 
and  its  innumerable  affluents,  but  the  uplands 
of  the  Andine  regions  and  the  plains  extending 
in  Venezuela  towards  the  North  Atlantic  or 
Caribbean  Sea,  and  in  Colombia  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  are  coveted  by  nations  where  humanity 
is  overcrowded  by  races  which  would  fain 
establish  colonies  in  those  regions.  The 
development  of  humanity  cannot  be  stayed ; 
the  human  wave,  even  as  the  stream  of  water 
contained  by  a  dyke,  will  sooner  or  later  break 
through  the  walls  that  imprison  it  and  flood  the 
surrounding  country.  It  were  well  for  men 
animated  by  real  patriotism  in  Colombia  and 
in  Venezuela  to  ponder  over  these  possibilities, 
so  that  the  two  nations  might  themselves  open 
the  flood-gates  for  immigration  without  delay, 
so  that  the  new-comers  would  prove  a  fresh 
source  of  strength  and  power,  helping  to  build 
up  on  the  basis  of  the  now  existing  nations 
free  and  mighty  commonwealths,  rather  than 
as  conquerors,  who  (whether  they  come  from 
the  North  as  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing  under 
cover  of  the  Monroe  doctrine,  or  from  across 
the  ocean,  driven  by  necessity  stronger  than  all 
political  conventionality)  would  come  as  masters. 


248    DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

Now  is  our  accepted  time.  The  moments 
are  counted  during  which  the  danger  may  be 
averted  and  the  inevitable  turned  to  account ; 
but,  alas !  feuds  and  errors  deep-rooted  in 
medieval  soil,  luxuriant  in  this  our  twentieth 
century,  darken  the  minds  of  men,  influence 
their  judgment,  turn  away  their  activity  from 
the  real  aims  that  would  lead  their  nations  to 
greatness,  and  force  them  into  barbarous 
struggles  which  the  world  regards  with  amaze- 
ment and  brands  as  crimes  against  mankind. 


CHAPTER   XX 

After  a  week  in  Ciudad  Bolivar,  we  bethought 
ourselves  of  continuing  the  journey  to  the 
sea.  Civilization  had  reclaimed  us  for  her  own, 
and  rigged  in  European  attire,  such  as  befits 
the  tropics,  with  all  the  social  conventionalities 
once  again  paramount  in  our  mind,  we  set  forth 
on  that,  the  last  stage  of  the  journey.  We  had 
been,  not  a  nine  days'  but  a  nine  hours'  wonder 
in  the  historical  town  which  rears  its  houses 
and  churches  alongside  the  narrows  of  the 
majestic  stream.  Early  in  the  afternoon  of  a 
dazzling  tropical  day,  cloudless,  blue  and  hazy 
from  the  very  brilliancy  of  the  air,  we  stepped 
into  the  large  steamboat  that  was  to  carry 
us  to  the  neighbouring  British  island  of  Trini- 
dad, once  also  a  Spanish  possession.  The 
usual  events  accompanying  the  departure  of 
all   steamers    from    the   shore    repeated   them- 


250     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

selves  :  clanging  of  chains,  shouting  of  orders, 
groans  of  the  huge  structure,  shrill  whistles, 
and  that  trepidation,  the  dawn  as  it  were  of 
motion,  something  like  a  hesitation  of  things 
inert  apparently  unwilling  to  be  set  in  motion, 
which  is  the  life  of  matter  inanimate  ;  then  the 
steady  throbbing  of  the  machinery,  the  stroke 
of  the  paddles,  splash,  splash,  until  regularity 
and  monotony  are  attained,  and  the  ship, 
wheeled  into  midstream  after  describing  a  broad 
arc,  set  the  prow  eastward  with  the  current  to 
the  ocean. 

We  looked  at  the  town  as  it  dwindled  indis- 
tinct, seeming  to  sink  into  the  vast  azure  of  the 
horizon,  swallowed  in  the  scintillating  folds  of 
the  blue  distance.  We  sat  on  the  deck  as  if  in 
a  trance.  Shortly  after  starting,  wild  Nature 
reasserted  her  sway,  and  the  small  oasis  built 
by  the  hand  of  man  in  the  heart  of  the  un- 
tamed region,  seemed  to  us  who  knew  how 
unmeasurable  were  those  forests  and  those 
plains,  like  a  tiny  nest  perched  on  the  branches 
of  a  lofty  and  over-spreading  ceiba.  A  feeling 
of  superiority  over  our  fellow-passengers  un- 
consciously filled  our  breasts.  For  were  we 
not    boon    companions,    fellow-travellers,    tried 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE     251 

and  trusted  comrades  of  those  rushing  waters  ? 
Had  we  not  shared  their  pilgrimage  for  days 
and  days,  in  calm  and  in  storm,  in  sunshine 
and  in  darkness  ?  Had  we  not  slept  on  their 
bosom  or  travelled  upon  it  for  countless  hours, 
till  the  secret  of  their  mystery  and  the  joy  of 
their  wandering  had  penetrated  into  our  very 
soul  ?  What  knew  they,  the  other  travellers 
of  a  few  hours,  of  the  intimate  life  of  those 
waters  which  we  had  watched,  gathering  their 
strength  from  all  the  points  of  the  compass, 
swelling  the  current  of  the  central  stream, 
mingling  their  life  with  it,  now  as  rivulets,  now 
as  rivers,  now  placid  in  the  embrace,  now 
plunging,  foaming,  as  if  loath  to  loose  their  iden- 
tity ?  Yea,  verily,  we  were  comrades,  fellow- 
pilgrims,  with  the  splendid  travelling  sea,  there 
on  its  final  march  to  the  boundless  deep. 

Forest  and  plain,  marsh,  morass,  jungle,  suc- 
ceeded one  another  in  interminable  procession, 
and  the  setting  sun  now  broke  its  ray  on  the 
low-lying  hills,  now  reverberated  on  the  far-off 
marshes  on  either  side  of  the  current,  tinging 
them  with  a  crimson  glow.  Towards  sunset 
the  whistle  of  the  steamer  frightened  a  flock  of 
flamingoes  gathered  to  roost,  as  is  their  wont 


252     DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE 

when  the  shadows  of  evening  approach.  The 
whole  flock  sought  refuge  in  flight,  and  their 
widespread  wings,  as  they  rose  before  us, 
seemed  Hke  a  huge  transparent  pink  curtain 
lifted  before  our  very  eyes,  rising  higher  and 
higher  until  it  vanished  in  space. 

Night  fell  upon  the  scene.  First  the  stars 
and  then  the  moon  kindled  their  beacon  fires, 
dispelling  darkness  into  a  semi-obscurity  fraught 
with  mystery,  embalmed  with  the  effluvia  from 
the  forest  and  the  river.  We  felt  like  a  shadow 
crossing  the  wilderness.  The  littleness  of  self, 
the  insignificance  of  the  human  being,  became 
overwhelming. 

What  could  it  matter  if  that  daring  shell  with 
its  human  freight  were  dashed  to  pieces  against 
a  submerged  tree  and  swallowed  in  the  waves.'* 
Nature,  impassible,  would  take  no  notice  of  the 
event ;  in  far-off  homes  sorrow  would  fill  the 
loving  hearts.  The  river  would  be  looked 
upon  as  a  grave,  wondrous  vast,  where  a  dear 
one  had  found  his  rest,  but  the  river  itself 
would  suffer  no  change,  and  our  world  of  hopes, 
ambitions,  infinite  longings,  would  leave  no 
more  trace  than  the  smallest  bubble  of  the 
floating  foam. 


DOWN  THE  ORINOCO  IN  A  CANOE    253 

And  thus  the  morrow  came.  With  the  light 
of  day  the  circle  of  the  horizon  broadened ;  we 
were  out  at  sea,  no  trace  of  land  was  visible. 
The  waves  tossed  the  struggling  craft  tenderly, 
gliding  under  its  keel,  the  wind  caressed  the 
flying  pennants  on  the  mastheads  and  seemed 
to  whisper  promises  of  freedom  as  it  rustled 
through  the  rigging.  The  mighty  river  had 
disappeared,  paying  its  tribute,  like  a  human 
being  to  the  grave,  to  Father  Ocean.  And  the 
long  journey  which  lay  behind  us  was  nothing 
more  than  a  dream  in  our  memory,  for  things 
dreamt  and  things  lived  do  so  intermingle  their 
identity  in  our  minds  that  the  attempt  to  dis- 
entangle their  threads  were  useless.  And  so 
we  drifted  into  the  broad,  unmeasurable  ex- 
panse of  waters  which  seemed  to  palpitate  and 
tremble  as  with  the  touch  of  life  under  the 
glorious  rays  of  the  morning  sun. 


THE   END 


DII.LING   AND   SONS,    LTD.,    PRINTERS,    GUILDFORD 


'-K-rfyrr-^  CT"^-    "^^ 


3  1158  00792  1090 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    001  253  ?M 


